Mr. John Tuohy:

As I said previously, my concern relates to implementation. The company awarded a contract must step up to the plate, make itself visible and speak to stakeholders who have concerns regarding how the system will work. The design is sound and it does not need to be revisited as it suits Irish conditions. Implementation is the key and it is important that we inform people of their Eircodes and the importance of using them. The industry must address the roll-out and deal with stakeholder concerns on implementation.

There will always be people who doubt the prospects for success of a major infrastructure project like this. When the Luas was proposed for Dublin some media reports suggested it would be an unused white elephant but every Luas tram I see is packed and there is now talk of expanding the scheme. There are always doubts ahead of major infrastructure projects and minority voices that do a good job of being heard in the media do not help. We must press on with this because the pitfalls lie in implementation so that is where we must be careful.