By Sabrina Sweeney

Events in a Belfast courtroom rarely feel relevant to people in Donegal. But the ruling from Mr Justice McAlinden this week, which puts the A5 dual carriageway in jeopardy again, is frustrating at best but fatal at worst.

This is the third time in 18 years that plans to transform one of Ireland’s most dangerous roads have been legally challenged and halted. In that time, more than 50 lives have been lost on the A5, fifty families left devastated, communities shaken while governments argue and the project is sent back to the drawing board yet again.

For anyone who travels that road regularly, or who has lost someone to it, the campaign for its upgrade is not just about transport or convenience. It’s about safety. It’s about lives saved rather than lives mourned.

The “Enough is Enough” message, backed by one of the largest community campaigns in years, has been a plea for decisive action. But instead, those same campaigners have been dealt yet another cruel blow.

In his judgment, Mr Justice McAlinden acknowledged the “significant fresh anguish” his ruling would bring to bereaved families. But he made clear that his hands were tied. The A5 project, in its current form, had not adequately demonstrated that it would not undermine Northern Ireland’s net-zero emissions target by 2050, a legal obligation under the Climate Change Act.

That failure, and not the project’s merits, ultimately led to its derailment. How could, after nearly two decades of planning, the Department for Infrastructure fail to align the project with its own legal framework? This wasn’t lost on any legal technicality. It was the Northern Ireland Executive clashing with its own laws.

In some ways, it’s not even difficult to accept this decision because sadly, it fits a pattern of failure, delay and dysfunction that has characterised too many Stormont-led initiatives.

From the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal that brought down a government, to the long-running paralysis around the North-South Interconnector, or delays in the delivery of key healthcare and education strategies, the public has seen this movie before.

People in the North and in border counties like Donegal have come to expect government to let them down. But even the cynics among us didn’t think the A5 project would face a huge setback in this manner, when the message about saving lives is so strong.

And when a project of such scale, urgency and life-or-death importance is stalled not by external opposition, but by Stormont’s own missteps, it raises serious questions.

Who is ultimately accountable when government departments act in ways that contradict the very laws they are bound to uphold?

It would be easier to accept the court’s decision if we didn’t know the emotional toll this drawn-out process has already taken. Families who’ve lost loved ones on the A5 have campaigned with dignity and determination for over a decade. They shouldn’t have to become legal experts or climate policy analysts just to demand a safe road.

Donegal, perhaps more than any other county in the Republic, is impacted by decisions made at Stormont. The A5 is a critical artery connecting us with Derry and Dublin and the longer this goes unresolved, the greater the risk for everyone who travels that route.

The North’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has said she is committed to delivering a “safer A5.” But commitment without execution is not enough. What happens next must be clear and swift. If the Executive intends to retain its climate goals, the A5 scheme must be amended to meet them. If not, the legislation may need revisiting, although that too comes with its own political challenges.

Let’s be honest: the public is tired of delays and expensive legal challenges. What’s needed now is competent, coordinated leadership and a credible plan that addresses legal obligations and delivers a road that is safe, sustainable and future-proofed.

Because behind every statistic are real people; sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, neighbours and friends, whose lives could have been spared if this road had been upgraded years ago.

The question now is: how many more lives must be lost before Stormont fixes what only it can?

Read Sabrina Sweeney’s Fresh Take column every Thursday in the Donegal News.