Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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273. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the efforts made to progress the A5 upgrade; the amount of funding allocated in each of the years 2020 to 2025, by year to progress this project, in tabular form. [31727/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The planning and implementation of the A5 upgrade project is the responsibility of the authorities in Northern Ireland.

The funding arrangements in relation to the A5 were governed by the 2014 Stormont House Agreement and Implementation Plan - A Fresh Start, and under this Agreement the Government had committed to provide funding of £75 million towards the cost of the A5 upgrade scheme once the statutory planning process in Northern Ireland was concluded. In recent years, provision of £25 million sterling has been made available by my Department each year, however, this has not been required.

It was announced on February 20th 2024 that as part of Government funding commitments for Shared Island projects, €600 million was being committed for the progression of the A5 project.

The Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland estimates the total scheme cost for the A5 project is approximately £1.6 billion with completion expected by 2032/2033 and the largest funding demands over the 2025 to 2028 period.

As for all such capital projects, the A5 upgrade scheme is subject to the planning assessment and approval process in Northern Ireland and since 2012 there have been a number of legal challenges. This has led to unavoidable delays to the implementation of the proposed scheme.

A new Public Inquiry into the scheme by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) concluded in June 2023, with the final report being issued to the Department for Infrastructure in October.

The Department for Infrastructure received a formal legal challenge to the project, which was heard through the High Court over a period of 5 days, concluding on 2 April 2025. Subject to a successful court hearing, work is expected to commence later this year.

I can confirm that my Department regularly engages with colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. These engagements consider a range of North/South transport proposals, including the A5, and further engagement is scheduled over the coming months.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the efforts made to progress the N2 upgrade; the amount of funding allocated in each of the years 2020 to 2025, by year to progress this project, in tabular form. [31728/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals.

There are a number of projects on the N2 which are included in the current NDP, including the N2 Ardee to South of Castleblaney, N2 Clontibret to the Border, N2 Slane Bypass and the N2 Rath Roundabout to Kilmoon.

In 2025, the N2 Clontibret to the Northern Irish Border project received an allocation of €3 million and the Slane Bypass and Public Realm Enhancement Scheme was allocated €0.65 million for 2025. The N2 Ardee to South of Castleblaney and N2 Rath Roundabout to Kilmoon projects did not received funding for 2025. The delivery programmne for these projects will be kept under review in the coming years and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII.

The total funding allocated to each of these projects from 2020 to 2023 is set out in the allocations booklets for those years, which are published on TII's website here: . Allocations for 2024 are available here:

Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct update regarding the projects on the N2. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.