Vol. 412 No. 3
81 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the progress which has been made through the Anglo-Irish secretariat, regarding the reopening of the Border crossing between County Leitrim and County Fermanagh; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I have every sympathy for people in the Leitrim-Fermanagh Border area whose lives are subject to daily disruption because of closed cross-Border roads. The question of closed Border roads, and the particular difficulties they create for people on both sides of the Leitrim-Fermanagh Border, has been repeatedly raised with the British authorities through the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast, where the matter receives ongoing and detailed attention. The issue has also been discussed at several meetings of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
I believe there is a very strong case for reopening closed Border crossings in County Leitrim which is without any open road to County Fermanagh. But there are serious security considerations arising from the continuing campaign of violence which make it difficult to make progress on this issue. These considerations must be weighed carefully against the negative economic and social effects of the crossings remaining closed. I am assured that the British authorities are keeping the situation under review and I will continue to draw attention, through the mechanisms of the Anglo-Irish conference, to the problems experienced by the people of Leitrim and to their views on particular road closures. I will also continue to urge that road closures should only be maintained where there are most persuasive security reasons for doing so.
