Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I have listened to many of the points, which I had listed also, so I will not repeat them, but it struck me that people have quickly forgotten that this country was broke in 2011, and it is a miracle that it is where it is today after five short years. We forget that people marched into the Department of Finance and took over this country. That jogs memories so that we will not forget what actually took place. We now have some independence back, but to listen to some contributions one would think we had won the lotto. I have a list as long as my arm, which I could throw out for discussion, but if we are to be realistic as to the future of this country, we should not engage in auction politics. Of course, the arts are important, as are all the other good ideas, but everybody in the country should remember that five short years ago we were broke, and there was no Government in control. The IMF was in control. Does the Deputy not remember the photographs of people walking into the Department of Finance? That is the reality.

I will not go over what was said earlier but the Minister made a point about identifying and supporting projects that represent the best possible value for the taxpayer. We are so narrow in our thinking, in terms of public transport, housing and development, that we see Dublin, but if we move seven or eight miles outside it, it is the country. There are people travelling over an hour every day to and from work in most cities in Europe. I can get on a DART in Glenageary and I am in town in 22 minutes. If I wanted to bring my car in, I would be sitting in traffic and would arrive in here after an hour. Issues like public transport are essential, and it brings development and potential development into regions. My point is to ask the Minister if there is a real plan to invest fully in proper public transport so that we will not have to depend on the situation where every house in Dalkey, Glenageary, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown is sold to cash buyers. A former local authority house in Dalkey is for sale at €750,000.

This is reality. If we want to help young people have homes of their own in the future, we must start looking outside. In most other capital cities, it is no great deal if one has to travel for 45 minutes or an hour to work on public transport. Is planning going on to invest in public transport to cover areas 30 miles outside Dublin, so that people can be brought in via bus lanes or by DART? A person can walk from one side of the city to the other in 20 minutes. Let us be real when it comes to the limited amount of money we have to invest. We should consider regular services using bus lanes, so people can get in and out of the city rapidly. I would like to know if there is any forward planning in that respect.