A local TD has outlined a number of "with the potential to have a profound impact on communities" across the Northern Sound region.
Speaking in the Dáil this week, Sinn Féin TD Cathy Bennett raised the N2 to Clontibret to the Border and the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney road projects.
She told the Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers about the importance of the road infrastructure to "unlocking the economic potential of the region."
Deputy Bennett also welcomed the Government target of reducing road fatalities to zero by 2050.
However, she said increased funding for education and communication in the Road Safety Authority and the Garda roads policing resources.
The TD said that capital investment is needed to progress projects that will have an impact on safety, and the funding of these projects in Monaghan can play a part in that in the region.
Deputy Bennett said: "While the Government today looks at the capital carryover, the country remains awash with underfunded infrastructure projects in desperate need of Government support.
"Nowhere is this more so than in the case of the north-west and Border regions. In my own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, there are a number of such projects with the potential to have a profound impact on communities. Two are the N2 to Clontibret to the Border and the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney road projects. I reiterate my welcoming of the shared island funding for works on the A5 in the North, which complements both of these projects.
"However, the overall benefits accrued can only maximised if works being completed on this side of the Border are actually carried out. The N2 upgrades have potential to play a crucial part in the unlocking of the economic potential of the region. However, these projects have not seen the prioritisation needed from the Government. Works were effectively suspended under the previous Government due to a lack of funding.
"While the Minister can dispute that if he wishes, "suspended" is the language used by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, yet, its project appraisal balance sheet for this project scored these works the highest possible score for the impact they would have on safety. Following the tragic events of the last weekend, where four people were killed in separate collisions over a 24-hour period, the number of people killed on our roads in this State this year to date is 179, a figure which has surpassed that of last year.
"This is a crisis level of collisions. I support the Government target of reducing road fatalities to zero by 2050 but we need increased funding for education and communication in the Road Safety Authority and the Garda roads policing resources. We also need capital investment to progress projects that will have an impact on safety, and the funding of these projects in Monaghan can play a part in that in our region," Deputy Bennett added.
