Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to raise the issue of the A5 road project, which is an extension of the N2 project linking Derry and Letterkenny to Dublin. It has been in the pipeline for well over a decade and I am raising it this morning because a Fine Gael Deputy for Donegal recently said the Government was steadfast in its commitment to the project, but omitted to say that when the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, was Minister for Transport he reduced the capital funding allocation from €450 million to €50 million. I do not think that can be described as "steadfast commitment" to the project on the part of the Fine Gael Government. I am pleased that the current Minister, Deputy Ross, has made this project a priority but he is constrained by the decision taken by Deputy Varadkar when he was Minister. This project is vital to the north west region, particularly in light of Brexit and the constraints Brexit will bring to bear in Donegal. While we do not know the full implications of Brexit yet, it will certainly not be economically beneficial for the north west region.

There is a tentative commitment to provide money and a huge amount in capital spend will be required but it is absolutely essential to the entire north west region. I do not know if there is any scope to seek additional moneys from the European Union as a result of Ireland standing firm with Europe in recent negotiations. One might argue that the European Union was using Dublin to get at Britain, to some extent. Irrespective of that, there is a case to be made at European level, in the context of the peace process and concerns over Brexit, for additional moneys to be ring-fenced for capital infrastructure investment in Border regions, particularly in Donegal and particularly for this project.

I travelled from Donegal last night, a dark dreary night, and the north part of the road, which is a stretch of some 42 miles, is dangerous and difficult to travel along. There is a need to provide the A5 project and I hope moneys can be found to meet the capital requirements of the project.