Thomas Pringle TD
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Pringle: Upgrade of A5 and related Donegal roads must be a priority

Pringle: Upgrade of A5 and related Donegal roads must be a priority

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, said Government must support the actions required to commence and complete the upgrade of the A5 and the Donegal roads connected to it.

Addressing the Dáil on Tuesday, Deputy Pringle said: “At least 47 people have died along the 86km stretch of road since a plan to upgrade the entire route to a dual carriageway was approved by the Stormont Assembly in 2007. This is shocking and it is clear that something needs to be done and done fast to address this.”

He credited the work of the ‘A5 Enough is Enough’ group, which was established last November in response to road deaths on the A5.

Deputy Pringle said: “The ‘Enough is Enough’ group is calling on the project to go ahead and for the new A5 to be built immediately in order to save lives, but say in the meantime road improvements, such as better lighting at junctions, overtaking lanes, and improved signs should be installed as soon as possible.”

He said: “This is what we should be prioritising, making Irish roads as safe as possible for road users and saving as many lives as we possibly can across the island.”

Deputy Pringle said: “As well as this, the A5 route is an extremely important infrastructure linking the north and south of our country. It is a major route for those living and working in border counties, such as Donegal, and across the north west.

“There are many social and economic reasons for us to ensure that this road is upgraded,” he said, adding, “There is no doubt that the lack of infrastructure in the county and across the north west impacts the economy here and improvements are desperately needed in our infrastructure in order for any real improvements to be made to our local economy.”

Deputy Pringle was speaking in support of the Sinn Féin Motion re A5 Route Upgrade.

The deputy said: “The Government needs to take action and it needs to support the actions required to bring about an end to a process that is now fifteen and a half years long. Work on the new A5 needs to begin as soon as possible. Further delays to the project will only cost more lives and will continue to have a negative effect on the development of the north west.

“Government also needs to ensure upgrade projects for other routes connecting to the A5 are approved and delivered as quickly as possible, including the N2 Ardee to Castleblaney, ‘Clontibret to the border’ road scheme and the ‘Ten-T’ upgrade in Donegal,” he said.

A report on the A5 project, following the Planning Appeals Commission public inquiry, is to be published later this year.

Deputy Pringle said: “I welcome the fact that the report is due to be published by the end of the year. There should be no delays from that point on to ensure the new A5 is delivered for everybody in the region.”