Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá an Cathaoirleach iontach foighdeach liom agus tá mé buíoch dó as mé a ligean isteach le labhairt. Yesterday, the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, and Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Hazzard, travelled to the Houses of the Oireachtas to address the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. I call on the Leader to ask the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, to come to the Chamber to address us on the issue of cross-Border infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure. If anyone needs a lesson on how to commit to being a responsible leader on this issue, they should listen to Chris Hazzard's contribution at the committee yesterday. There is a growing consensus around the need to connect both main cities on the island. It would bring economic, social and cohesive benefits to the country as a whole. In all of these discussions there is the need to consider areas that are underprovided for, in this instance, in terms of transport infrastructure. It is unfortunate that thus far, the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, has been unable to meet his counterpart in the North for whatever reason. In the absence of that, we should have the Minister in front of us here for a specific discussion. In the past, my colleague, Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, and I have raised the issue of connectivity to the north west and support for the City of Derry Airport. There is growing consensus, with the passing of motions in Dublin City Council and Belfast City Council, on identifying funding from Europe for the adoption of a high-speed rail link connecting both cities. Deputy Gerry Adams and I met with a campaign group from Newry yesterday which is concerned about the provision and frequency of rail services through Newry connecting Dublin and Belfast. The Leader will know that as part of the Fresh Start agreement agreed 18 months ago, the Irish Government committed itself to looking at this issue. Within that context, now is a very opportune and, in light of the Brexit vote, critical time for the Minister to come in and discuss how this can be advantageous to our people as a whole.