Marie Sherlock (Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House. Senators McGreehan and McGahon are sharing time.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I raise two of my favourite topics, County Louth's Cooley Peninsula and the connecting of the two sides of Carlingford Lough. The Narrow Water Bridge, to me, as a local, is a project that has been talked about for so long. It is a symbol of the future and of what can be. It is aspirational, but with the shared island fund, that aspiration has become a possibility. One might say it is infrastructure with various merits, but it is so much more than infrastructure. It is about moving forward through peace and reconciliation, going back to the time when the Vikings travelled up Carlingford Lough and settled in Newry and Carlingford. There is so much positivity around the project. We have been discussing it for about 20 years. There have been delays upon delays and now is the time for action. I hope we can get a positive answer on the matter from the Minister for Transport.It is shovel-ready. Louth County Council has done incredible work over recent years on this. We need action. It is supported and spoken about by An Taoiseach at every opportunity. Nichola Mallon, Minister for Infrastructure in the North, is also an incredible sponsor of the project. It is important for reasons of morale, tourism and sustainable and active living. I could freewheel from the Cooley Mountains to the Mournes. What better way to live one's life than being able to cross that bridge? One could throw a stone or have a conversation. It is important to start connecting these two.

John McGahon (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Senator McGreehan and I represented this part of the world, namely, the Dundalk-Carlingford area, on Louth County Council. It is a hugely symbolic and important project for the communities of Omeath, Carlingford and north Louth, and for communities on the other side of the Border, like Warrenpoint, Rostrevor and Newry. It is a symbolic thing to connect those communities which have been apart for so long because of issues in the Troubles and everything else. Carlingford Lough is already quite connected through the Carlingford ferry at the mouth of the lough, which goes from Greenore to Greencastle. This is a good way to connect it further down.

It has had many false hopes and false dawns over the years. When I was first elected to the council in 2014, it was very close to getting over the line but, because of mistakes in prices and tenders, it fell short. The project is now shovel-ready and could start tomorrow if the funded was approved. We need Government to approve that funding. The funding is there through the shared island unit, which is looking around to fund projects that are ready to start. This is the perfect example of something we can do with it. That is why Senator McGreehan and I bring this to the Seanad today. We need the final approval and the rubber stamp from Government to go ahead with it.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the late councillor, Tommy Elmore, who put this project on the map 40 years ago. He was the first person to advocate this. The Elmore family are synonymous with the Omeath community. Tommy passed away nearly two and a half decades ago but this was his project. He was the first one to talk about this. He put it on the map 40 years ago when the concept of cross-Border infrastructure was null and void because people were blowing stuff like that up. I would like to remember him today in this debate about the Narrow Water bridge.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for putting so well the case about the physical infrastructure of the bridge and the symbolism of bridging two communities. Unfortunately, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, are not available, so I am taking this topic on their behalf.

It is important to note there is a Government commitment jointly with the Northern Ireland Executive to progress consideration of options for the development of the Narrow Water bridge project at the North-South Ministerial Council included in New Decade, New Approach. This followed on from a similar commitment in A Fresh Start - The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan.

A progress report regarding consideration of options for a Narrow Water bridge was considered by the North-South Ministerial Council in July 2016 and the council decided then that work should continue on the development of options. Senior officials have been continuing a review of the options, which has included meetings with relevant stakeholders. In engaging with stakeholders, officials have highlighted the need to assess all potential options objectively to ensure the best possible outcome for the area and the best use of public funds. Following on from that, the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland started work on the preparation of an outline business case regarding a Narrow Water bridge scheme. The purpose of the business case is to consider the need to construct a bridge over the Newry River and appraise options to ensure any proposal put forward is likely to represent value for money. The Department's strategic research and analysis division provided input into this work.

The proposal for the Narrow Water bridge has to be considered in light of welcome developments with respect to the Newry southern relief road since 2016. That road would provide an alternative route for strategic traffic that avoids Newry city centre and links to the eastern seaboard key transport corridor, the A1-N1 from Belfast to Dublin. The Department for Infrastructure has conducted a community consultation on the Newry southern relief road regarding the preferred route.The current proposal for the Newry southern relief road is likely to include pedestrian and cycling provision, as well as connectivity, to the B79-R173 Fathom Lane leading to Omeath, Carlingford. I understand that the intention is to have a complete stage 3 scheme assessment of the Newry southern relief road published in quarter 3 of this year by the Department for Infrastructure. As part of the project optioneering, four options are being considered for the Narrow Water bridge, that is, do nothing, a pedestrian cycle bridge only, a bridge that also caters for cars, and a bridge that also caters for buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles. The overall assessment of the case for the Narrow Water bridge, including in the context of the development of a wider tourism initiative for the region, is not at a stage where it is a clearly defined and a costed scheme. Further consideration of any impact on the R173 of any vehicular bridge would also need to be considered.

On 5 May 2021, the North-South Ministerial Council noted the commitments in New Decade, New Approach in regard to the Narrow Water bridge and agreed that Departments will consider next steps to progress the scheme. I understand that at that meeting the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, committed to meeting with the Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, and stakeholders in the area once Covid restrictions permitting such a visit are lifted. The options for the Narrow Water bridge remain under consideration.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. He mentioned the business case. It might never be achieved if the conversation is around bare economic facts. The Narrow Water bridge project is about a lot more than a bridge; it is about dreaming and looking to the future. There is so much tourism potential in terms of the creation of this product. There is already a bridge and planning for widening it. The Minister of State's remarks are disingenuous because there is a bridge and a plan that is shovel-ready.

John McGahon (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I do not think it should be a case of the Newry southern relief road or the Narrow Water bridge. There is no reason we cannot have both. There are many reasons the Newry southern relief road makes sense in terms of vehicular traffic, access and so on, but it should not be a case of one or the other. As Senator McGreehan rightly pointed out, it is the symbolic nature of this project that we should be talking about. It is for that reason this project is being progressed by the shared island unit as opposed to a Department of Transport or Department for Infrastructure.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I understand the Senators' frustration regarding progress on this issue. It is of great importance on both sides of the Border, as has been stated. There are many moving parts in achieving progress on this issue. As I mentioned in my opening statement, the development of the Newry southern relief road is proceeding well. This would have a major impact on the robustness of any business case that would subsequently be developed for a vehicular Narrow Water bridge. It is likely that many of the benefits in the business case that would originally have accrued to a vehicular bridge at Narrow Water will instead flow to the Newry southern relief road. To that end, a cycling and walking bridge of real architectural merit is worthy of consideration. This could tie in with the natural beauty of Carlingford Lough and it would link the Newry to Greenore greenway and create the impetus for a greenway on the northern side of the lough from Warrenpoint to Greencastle where greenway users could access the ferry to journey across to Greenore. This would, perhaps, be worthy of consideration and provide a world-class piece of tourism infrastructure in the region that would bring huge benefits to people on both sides of the Border.

We have seen the transformation of towns such as Newport in Mayo and Kilmacthomas and Dungarvan in Waterford following the development of greenways. Greenways bring hundreds of thousands of users to areas of the country in much need of tourism. They also provide the means of connecting our towns and villages with a sustainable means of transport for every day journeys by foot or bicycle. However, this is just one option. All options are on the table for consideration. I understand that officials continue to work on devising costs for all the options, as well as the wider impact of other developments in the area. I am due to visit the region in the coming weeks and I look forward to meeting the Senators there to discuss the matter further.