Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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145. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for improving cross border transport links; and if he will commit to meeting with his counterparts in Stormont to discuss improvements in access and planning of transport services [4343/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the  Deputy will be aware, transport was specifically identified in the Good Friday Agreement as one of the key areas for North/South cooperation and consequently is one in which the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meets in Sectoral format. The Council meets in this format in order to make decisions on common policies and approaches in the area of transport including areas where there may be scope to better integrate transport provision throughout the island.  The most recent NSMC meeting in Transport Sectoral format took place on 4 November 2014 in Armagh where I met Mark H Durkan MLA, Minister for the Environment in Northern Ireland and Danny Kennedy MLA Minister for Regional Development in Northern Ireland. Amongst the agenda items for this meeting were Strategic Transport Priorities;  Cycling/Cross Border Greenways;  an update on the A5 and A8 major road projects; a progress report on the work which is underway to allow for the mutual recognition of penalty points; a review of the ongoing cooperation in the areas of road user and vehicle safety as well as a discussion on EU matters which impact on the transport sector in the two jurisdictions. Other items which have previously featured on the agenda at NSMC Transport meetings have included the All Island Freight Forum, developments on the Dublin/Belfast Rail line and cross-border community based rural transport.

The next NSMC meeting in Transport Sectoral format is scheduled for 22  April and the agenda is likely to  again feature a number of the issues listed above as well as providing an opportunity for a general discussion on improvements in cross-border transport links. Overall there is excellent  cooperation between my Department and the relevant Departments in Northern Ireland in the transport area. I look forward to this cooperation continuing and to availing of any other mutually beneficial opportunities in relation to cross-border transport links in the future.