The A5 'Enough is Enough' group will visit the Dáil later this afternoon to address a special meeting of TDs. The meeting is ahead of a Sinn Fein motion that will be debated on the floor of the Dáil.
It comes after the Irish Government recently reiterated its support for the construction of the new A5 dual carriageway which runs on from the N2 between Aughnacloy and Newbuildings near Derry.
Speaking to Northern Sound, group chairman Niall McKenna noted that whilst works on the A5 is extremely important to the group, he is aware that the road is also part of a wider N2 scheme.
As a result, he said the group will be pushing for the duelling from Ardee right through Monaghan to the border and also from Lifford to Letterkenny at the meeting.
“If those three schemes were done at the same time, it would be totally transformative to the lives of people," he told Northern Sound. "I was in Dublin at the weekend for football and the road on both sides of the border, right through to Ardee is littered with memorials of previous road victims.
“Those roads are just not fit for purpose with the amount of traffic traveling on them and as a group we feel very strongly about works going ahead as soon as possible.
"In the meantime, we will continue to lobby all decision makers in an attempt to get this programme of works finally moving and make an impact where it is needed the most."
Meanwhile, commitment to works on the N2 was a major focus point at this week’s sitting of Monaghan County Council. Cllr Paudge Connolly sought clarity from the local authority on where the matter stands at the moment. The local representative raised his concerns in relation to the recent grant funding of 2.3 million euro allocated towards the project.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Cllr Connolly said that the management report discussed at this week’s council meeting, only shows that the project has “merely reached” the evaluation stage.
Despite this, he said he is “hopeful” that progress will be made towards the grant preparation stage and a direct commitment of funding is set in stone. He added that people have been left behind for "too long" and that it is vital that cross communities work together:
Speaking to Northern Sound in relation to the motion that will be debated on the floor of the Dáil this afternoon, Deputy Matt Carthy says more needs to be done on both sides of the border so that this region can be enhanced on social and economic levels.
"We need to see the A5 in the North upgraded but we also need to see the very important linkage from the border in Aughnacloy right to the M1 motorway developed so that people from Monaghan can travel to either Derry or Dublin as is necessary but more importantly so that this region can reach its economic potential."
