asked the Minister for Finance whether he will arrange with the Revenue Commissioners to have the Crossmaglen-Carrickmacross road recognised as an approved road for cross-Border traffic.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Border Approved Road.
5.
The Carrickmacross-Crossmaglen road has at present a limited approval for the exportation of cattle otherwise than by motor vehicle.
Following the Deputy's previous query I have had a full review of the situation carried out by the Revenue Commissioners. From their report I am satisfied that the potential traffic for this road, were it approved, would not be sufficient to warrant the expense of providing official accommodation and personnel and accordingly I am not prepared to have the present limited approval extended.
Assuming there is a conflict of opinion on this matter between the experts of the Revenue Commissioners and the local people, would the Minister not consider, for the common good, that an experimental period should be provided during which the road would be approved, on the understanding that, if the traffic using the road did not justify its permanent approval, the Minister would feel himself quite free to withdraw the approval or recommend a restricted approval after, say, the lapse of a year?
There would be some expense, of course, in giving even limited approval. There would be expense in providing not alone the personnel but also the accommodation. I should also like to remind the Deputy that these services could not be given unless there was a reciprocal agreement between the British side and ourselves.
Nobody can expect the Minister to do more than his own part. Would the Minister not agree that where there is a persistent and constant conviction in a rural area that the service of the road is truly necessary, that it would be used by a large volume of local traffic, and where that conflicts with the views of the Revenue Commissioners but the conviction remains, as it does in this case, is it not the wise thing to give it a trial to enable us to demonstrate to the people that, in fact, the traffic they believe to be available is not there? Otherwise they will go on believing that this is a very great hardship under which they are being asked to suffer.
I have had representations on this matter from one of my own colleagues representing the county. But this does not appear to be a road that would be open to very much traffic even if approval was given.
Perhaps the Minister will consider the proposal to have an experimental period?
I suppose we could look at it again.