Latest A5 delay “totally unacceptable”
Aontú Councillor, Rosemarie Shields, has said that the delay in the A5 project is “totally unacceptable” in order to make up the shortfall of the mounting costs of the National Children’s Hospital.
The A5 Road which has been beset by delays has suffered yet another blow with news that €27 million which was earmarked for the project will be delayed.
Cllr Shields said:
“It is disgraceful that the southern government have been so cavalier about the crippling cost overruns of the National Children’s Hospital. Now we’re witnessing an outplaying of their carelessness and mismanagement.
“The A5 Dublin to Derry road will now be further delayed due to cost overruns at the Hospital. This upgrade was jointly funded by the Irish and British Governments. Indeed, a pledge of £400 million for the project by the Irish government as part of the St Andrews Agreement back in 2006 was downgraded to a sum total of £125 million in the following years. Now further cuts are being implemented.
“Leo Varadkar has already put a gloss on these gross delays – labelling the exercise as “the reprofiling of payments” rather than admitting to the catastrophe that it is. The Irish government pledged last year that there would be a big focus on regional development. However the ease at which Varadkar can postpone critical projects shows how much regard he really holds for All-Ireland infrastructure and economy.
“It’s shocking that Fianna Fáil/SDLP are allowing this to happen. Fine Gael governs on the basis of Fianna Fáil’s support. Fianna Fáil is paralysed in the south by a leader that is politically paralysed and refuses to make a decision. Accountability with regards waste is the first step to preventing it in the future. Yet FF/SDLP are refusing to hold the southern Minister for Health to account for fear that it might cause an election they are not prepared for. And all the while key infrastructure for the north slips further into the future.”
