Kenny committed to cross-border road link plan

Plans for a major Dublin to Derry road link are not being abandoned, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted.

The Government also remains committed to helping upgrade a dual carriageway between Belfast and Larne, he claimed.

Mr Kenny has come under attack from both sides of the border for reneging on a €400m promise towards the cross-border M2/A5 project.

Plans to start work on the road, which would connect Donegal with Dublin through the North, were mothballed as part of the Government's austerity measures.

But announcing Dublin’s spending plans for the next four years today, Mr Kenny denied the shelved projects were being abandoned outright.

“They are being deferred until the economic situation allows them to proceed,” he said.

“The same applies to the A5/A8 road projects in Northern Ireland.

“The Government remains committed to these projects, even if they will now require a longer timeline.”

Mr Kenny said he was seeking early discussions with authorities in Northern Ireland about a new timetable and implementation plan for the Dublin/Derry route.

These financial commitments were part of the St Andrews Agreement struck during intensive peace process negotiations between political parties and both the Irish and British governments.

It included vows to upgrade 19km (12 miles) between Monaghan and Aughnacloy and 24km (15 miles) from Letterkenny to Lifford.

But those promises have gone the same way as Dublin’s Metro and Dart underground light rail proposals, as well as other major infrastructure projects put on ice under spending restrictions imposed by the EU/IMF rescue package.

Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil Donegal North East TD, has demanded a Dáil debate on the future of the Dublin to Derry link.

“The damage of such a decision is profound,” he said.

“I am also urging the Stormont Executive to take the funding they have set aside for this project and sit down with the Taoiseach and Transport Minister Leo Varadkar to negotiate a resolution that will allow this crucial piece of infrastructure to be built.”