Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last Friday the Seanad Chamber hosted the inaugural meeting of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association, which was a great indication of the progress made on the island. The establishment of this association stems from the Good Friday and St. Andrew's Agreements. It was an historic moment and I look forward to working closely with the association for years to come.

I give a warm welcome to the decision made yesterday by An Bord Pleanála to give the go-ahead to the construction of a new bridge at Narrow Water on the River Newry, linking County Louth and County Down for the first time. This is something for which I have been hoping and on which I have been working for a long time. Following the granting of planning permission by the Northern Ireland Environment Minister last week, I am delighted the project can go ahead. Provided funding under the INTERREG 4 scheme comes through, I hope the bridge will open in 2015.

It is a great symbol, not only because Narrow Water was the site of where so many British soldiers were killed in one of the worst atrocities in the Troubles in the North, but because this project can be a step forward and the way towards unity of North and South.