Sir, – Prof John FitzGerald's article on underinvestment in Derry makes many salient points on how Derry is neglected by successive governments in the North, yet also highlights the great potential the whole northwest city region of Derry, Letterkenny and Strabane has ("Underdeveloped Derry is an all-island problem", Business, Opinion, February 18th).
However, his sweeping dismissal of the railway link between Derry and Belfast as simply a “scenic route” does not ring true.
For decades, the Derry to Belfast route was a neglected outpost of the railway network to the extent that it was threatened with closure in the early 2000s.
A strong local campaign led by Eamonn McCann to save the railway resulted in the promise of a three-phase investment programme by the Stormont executive which, after two phases, has provided Derry with new trains and a more frequent timetable.
The investments made to date have produced a sixfold increase since 2001 in passenger numbers of up to over three million passengers annually.
The increase in passenger numbers has far exceeded the forecasts that NI Railways made in their investment plan.
Despite all this, Stormont continue to postpone the third phase of investment in the line which would shorten journey times and allow more trains to be added to the timetable.
The success of the Derry line in attracting more and more passengers should be regarded as a strong argument for extending the railway further to Letterkenny and beyond, as well as providing a much-needed direct link to Dublin.
Perhaps Prof FitzGerald should have highlighted the undoubted success of the revitalised railway as an example of what happens when Derry gets the investment it so badly needs. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD LOGUE,
London.
Sir, – I very much welcome the call from John FitzGerald for Derry to achieve an increased number of university students and graduates.
Our city suffers from a comparatively low proportion of graduates in our population, while Northern Ireland has the lowest proportion of graduates in its population of any region in the UK or Ireland.
Belfast gains from its much higher percentage of graduates, contributing to regional economic inequality in the North, on both sides of the Border. To address this imbalance, Derry must have its own full-sized university.
While our Magee campus and Derry itself will benefit substantially from projects approved under the British government’s City Deal programme, this must be only the next stage of university development and cannot be regarded as the end of the process.
It is essential that university provision in Derry generates the maximum benefit for the city and region.
This requires a genuine partnership between university, the council and the governments, with the optimum benefit being achieved by the greatest possible level of autonomy.
As John FitzGerald explained, the shortage of graduates and undergraduates in Derry is not just a barrier to growth for our city, but for the whole cross-border northwest region.
The SDLP is very frustrated that Stormont has not progressed the commitment to 10,000 students contained in New Decade New Agreement at the insistence of our party leader Colum Eastwood.
This failure is why it is down to the Irish and British governments to deliver this for the benefit of the people of Derry and the wider northwest.
My party is very appreciative that the Irish Government has stated its commitment to this. – Yours, etc,
SINÉAD McLAUGHLIN,
SDLP MLA for Foyle,
Derry.