Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Senator Imelda Henry, in welcoming the good news we received in Sligo yesterday. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, was present there yesterday morning when an announcement was made that 120 jobs would be saved in the company in question. There is even the possibility of a further 50 jobs being created in the future. We had a very good weekend in Sligo. The Taoiseach and two Ministers were there yesterday, while the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, was in County Leitrim on Sunday to examine a number of very good projects, which is all very good news. I call on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to meet public representatives in the Sligo-north Leitrim area regarding the provision of funding for the stretch of the N4 at Castlebaldwin. While some work is being done, 29 people have lost their lives on it in recent years. We must focus on this issue and make sure the road is realigned. It is the last bad stretch between Sligo and Dublin and I call for funding to be made available for it. It would also encourage the creation of more jobs in the region. It is believed the condition of this stretch of road in terms of the difficulty presented in travelling into and out of the area is preventing people from approaching IDA Ireland and creating jobs.