John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to rehearse points that have already been made. The Minister mentioned various large projects such as Luas cross-city in Dublin, which is necessary. There are issues in other cities. I would be very conscious of Galway city, where there is gridlock. Companies are questioning whether to come to the city, which has done reasonably well in terms of jobs in recent years, because of gridlock and the lack of infrastructure on the outer urban bypass.

In respect of the policy of urban versus rural, I wish to refer to long-term planning. The issue of broadband is not covered by this committee but it is one that will be solved in the coming years. There is a need for infrastructure all over the country. Where did we get this concept of urban versus rural? We need a long-term plan regarding infrastructure in rural as well as urban areas. The major motorway in the west of Ireland in recent would have been the Dublin-Galway road. The Gort-Tuam road is up and running now but it needs to continue on to Sligo. We need to reach a situation where rural Ireland is not effectively closed down. Another issue concerns the regional airports. I know the benefit of Ireland West Airport Knock at local level. Rural Ireland is alive and well in some aspects but it is crying out for an expansion in infrastructure. If we solve every transport issue in Dublin, it will mean that Dublin will expand more and everyone will be living on the east coast. That is a situation which must not be allowed to develop.

I was interested in the Minister's comments about appointments to boards. He more or less stated that previous appointments were made because the Ministers knew too much about the people applying. The Minister seemed to suggest that he cannot appoint certain individuals because he does not know anything about them. There should be a happy medium. Every person has some political affiliation. That fact should not be allowed to affect an individual's chances because, otherwise, no appointments will be made. People who have been involved in politics in the past have lots of skills that should not be discounted. Obviously, it should be done in a structured and correct way.

I may not be here when the sports section is discussed. Will there be an announcement in the coming weeks about another sports capital programme?