‘What price do you put on a life’, business chief says of father’s A5 road death

The head of business group Manufacturing NI has spoken publicly about the death of his father on the A5 as he backed the campaign for more urgency to upgrade the road. Stephen Kelly, chief executive of the business lobby group, gave evidence to the Irish government last month on the need to upgrade the road. In 1995 his father, former Derry City FC captain Terry Kelly, sadly died following a crash on the A5.

Stephen Kelly said the "debate about the cost of the road" should focus instead on "what price do you put on a life". In May last year, dozens of family members bereaved following crashes on the A5 addressed a public inquiry into the much delayed upgrade of the road. The death of talented Killyclogher GAA player John Rafferty aged 21 in October 2022 prompted the setting up of the A5 Enough is Enough campaign group by fellow clubman Niall McKenna.

Speaking at the inquiry in May, John's father Felix said his family was 'broken' and called on the road to be progressed urgently. This came after more than 180 businesses in the North West signed an open letter in March calling for urgent progress to the delayed road upgrade. Now, Stephen Kelly has told the BBC he would spend "a billion pounds" to have his father back.

I know there is a debate about the cost of the road, debate from landowners and what it could mean for them but what price do you put on a life?" the Manufacturing NI CEO told BBC Radio Foyle on Monday. On his appearance at the Irish government's joint committee on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement last month, he said: "I didn't know what the questions were going to be on the A5, and it was just a natural reaction from me to say 'listen, this road is economically essential but actually its more about lives than it is about jobs'." He added: "That's the real cost of this."

Mr Kelly continued: "If I had a billion pounds to get my father back today, I would spend it. Any one of those families who lost their loves would do the same. "It's not the cost of the concrete, tarmac and central reservations.

It's the cost of the damage the A5 has done to families and communities. That's what we need to be concentrating on." Mr Kelly told the broadcaster the A5 is a "disgrace".

"There's been carnage on that road for too long now," he said. "The completed upgrade will help the economy of the north west and it will bring jobs but if it saves just one life, it will be worth every penny."

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References

1. ^ Mum of man who died in A5 road crash on anguish of hearing of Aughnacloy triple tragedy (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
2. ^ Relatives of A5 victims speak out at public inquiry into delayed road scheme (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
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