City amongst most isolated in EU: Kennedy

Last week the Sentinel reported how Londonderry did not meet the criteria for inclusion as a core node on the European Union’s proposed trans-European transport network (TEN-T). But Mr Kennedy said he was lobbying for inclusion of the Londonderry to Belfast line on the network. Now the Minister has explained why Londonderry should be on the network in response to an Assembly Question from Foyle MLA Colum Eastwood. “Londonderry is of significant strategic importance, not just to Northern Ireland but to Great Britain and to the Republic of Ireland. The North-West is one of the most isolated and peripheral regions of the European Union and has high levels of economic and social deprivation. “Inclusion of Londonderry as a core node will provide the Department with greater opportunity to avail of European funding for transport links to and from Londonderry. “This will make the City a more attractive option for inward investment and development of the surrounding region by promoting access to the single market. “Geographically, Londonderry is an obvious border crossing point linking Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland,” the Minister said. He said Londonderry can act as “an important gateway between the EU and neighbouring North Western states.” “As a result, inclusion of Londonderry on the TEN-T core network fits within the overall objective of the TEN-T, which is to provide a framework for the development of infrastructure for the smooth functioning of the internal market and for ensuring economic, social and territorial cohesion and improved accessibility across the EU,” he commented. Whilst Mr Kennedy gave his support to Londonderry’s core node status he said there were no plans for an extenstion of the railway network from the North West to Cork. “The specific issue of extending the mainline rail network from Cork to Londonderry has not been raised at North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) Transport meetings. “The focus of railway issues at recent NSMC Transport meetings has been on improvements to the Dublin to Belfast line. In 2008, the NSMC Transport meeting noted that there were no plans to build a rail link between Sligo and Londonderry through Donegal,” he said.