Narrow Water Bridge historic link between northern and southern communities – McGahon

The Narrow Water Bridge will be a historic piece of infrastructure linking northern and southern communities together, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Speaking today as the Government announced €3 million in funding to progress the project, Louth Senator John McGahon said, “The Narrow Water Bridge has had many false starts in recent years, but it really is wonderful to have funding ringfenced and to see this long awaited project being finally completed.

“I’ve had a keen interest in seeing the Narrow Water Bridge Project approved since I was first elected to the Council in 2014. More recently, I have been able to use my position as a Government Senator to lobby for this project and ensure its delivery. I had a recent debate with the Minister for Transport on the project where I stressed the importance of this project for North Louth in terms of symbolism, as well as the tourism and financial benefits the project would provide for the area.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, tourism will play a leading role in Louth’s economic comeback. The Narrow Water Bridge will prove a critical piece of infrastructure linking up the Lough region and complementing Carlingford Ferry.

“This funding will open up a substantial tourism gateway for North Louth. The expanded Carlingford-Omeath Greenway, Carlingford Ferry, and the Narrow Water Bridge are all strands that when combined will create an extremely attractive tourist destination.

“The Narrow Water Bridge is also a hugely symbolic and important project for the communities of Omeath and Carlingford as well as for those on the other side of the border such as Warrenpoint, Rostrevor and Newry.

“With this great news, I want to pay special tribute to the late Tommy Elmore, the man who put this project on the map forty years ago and championed it as an important piece of infrastructure that needed to be built. Now, twenty years on from his death, it is wonderful to finally see that his vision and dream will become a reality.

“Former Senator Jim Darcy must be also recognised for the trojan effort he put into trying to secure the project between 2011-2016, as week as more recently in his role as a special adviser to An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. Indeed, it was Leo Varadkar, who as Minister for Transport in 2014 after the failure of the first tendering process, promised that the Bridge would go ahead. It’s fantastic to see today that, along with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, he has delivered on that commitment.

“€3 million euro is immediately available and will be used to start the tendering process straight away. While it is difficult to say what the final cost of the project will be until the tendering process is complete, it is expected that the project will not cost any less than €60 million, with that money already ringfenced through the Shared Island Unit which has a total budget of €500 million.

“Joan Martin, Chief Executive of Louth County Council, deserves particular praise for her willingness to keep the project alive by renewing the planning permission. If she had not taken that step, it is unlikely this project would be going ahead in its current form.

“This is the most significant infrastructure project for County Louth since the creation of the M1 Motorway over twenty years ago. It’s truly a great announcement for the people of North Louth and everyone in the Omeath community who have put so much effort into this project over such a long period of time,” concluded Senator McGahon.