Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am also on that committee, as is Deputy Catherine Murphy. We can also ask there but I think it is an issue of public expenditure. This is going to cost money. Let us ask the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport why agencies under its remit do not have the expertise to make a commercial business case. If the answer is that they do not have the expertise, then there are recruitment problems and the HR policy approaches are wrong. If someone does not know the commercial case for rail expansion and they work for the NTA or Irish Rail, those organisations are not fit for purpose. The next question is: how many business cases are needed? Someone will always take issue but someone needs to take a decision and say that they have the two or three quotes, that they are happy that this is what is needed and a decision will be taken to do it.

I do not know who will be Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport by the time any of these projects come to fruition if we continue along these line.