THE GOVERNMENT HAS performed a mini U-turn on its decision to withdraw its commitment to help pay for a major upgrade of the A5 Monaghan to Derry road.
A spokesperson for the Government confirmed to TheJournal.ie this morning that €50 million has now been made available for the project.
The move comes following a meeting between Enda Kenny and Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness yesterday.
The spokesperson said the €50 million will be paid over two years – the first €25 million in 2015 and the remainder the following year.
Earlier this week, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said that while the administration was “politically committed” to the A5 road upgrade, the capital budget cuts rendered it unaffordable.
After yesterday’s meeting, McGuinness told U.TV that the upgrade was now “back on track”. Full details of the plan will be announced during next week’s North South Ministerial meeting in Armagh.
The full cost of the project for the upgrade of the 87-kilometre-long road is understood to be about £850 million. The plan was designed prior to the economic crisis as a way to cut down travel time between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
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