Families among those attending re-convened A5 Public Inquiry

FAMILIES of some of those who have died on the A5 during recent years have been among those who attended the re-opening of the Public Inquiry into a planned dual-carriageway for the route.

Members of the Corrigan, McNamee and McLoughlin families listened to the opening session at the re-convened Inquiry, which is taking place at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.

They have been joined by the parents of the late John Rafferty, who was killed on the road last year.

He was described by Counsel for the Enough is Enough campaign, barrister, Pllunkett Nugent, as an ‘exceptional gaelic footballer.

Mr Nugent said it was important that all victims of the A5 be kept ‘to the very forefront of the collective memory.’

Commissioner Gareth Kerr stressed the importance of the Inquiry.

“We are painfully aware that the A5 scheme has been trapped for more than a decade in the cycle of information gathering, public consultation and abortive decision making,” he said.

“We intend to present the Department with clear, robust recommendations on all key issues so that it can make and implement firm decisions and bring this saga to an end.”