Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this morning's news about shared island funding. A total of €800 million in multi-annual funding was announced. The A5 road seems ancient whenever I travel it.It is absolutely dangerous. It feels like it is from another time and another era because it has been so poorly invested in. I am thinking today of the many campaigners over the years, particularly the families I know who have lost loved ones on that road. It is an essential piece of infrastructure connecting the north west to the rest of the island. It brings safety, security, investment and connectivity and is good news for all of us. I thank all of those who campaigned over the years. Hopefully we will see the new infrastructure Minister in the North leading out on this as well.

I also welcome the investment in the astronomical observatories of Ireland. When I was a child I used to go to Armagh planetarium. Today my family is as familiar with the Dunsink Observatory in Dublin 15 and there is also an observatory in Birr. I welcome the investment in the heritage and tourism potential of those three observatories.

The announcement includes €50 million towards the redevelopment of Casement Park, which will put it on the map not just in Belfast and Ulster but across the island. Moreover, funding of €12.5 million will be provided for a new hourly rail service from Dublin to Belfast. This means a lot to me because it does not threaten anybody's identity. It brings identities together. It makes roads like the A5 and facilities like Casement Park, as well as the idea of going up the road to Belfast for the day or visiting Armagh planetarium, more accessible to everybody. It is a bright day, against the backdrop of new relationships and new potential on our island. Well done to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport.