Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

-----and some of it has political aspects, but the money involved is sizable. I imagine there are people around the country who are not familiar with that part of Dublin who believe that the project has been partly delivered already and the almost €250 million is just some sort of augmentation, but it is being spent without a single shovel having gone into the ground. At some point, it would be worthwhile to examine this matter in a little more detail to see where we can learn some lessons.

Regarding tolls, it is what TII does not say that sometimes raises questions. Mr. Walsh mentioned that revenue from tolls was €56 million less than originally forecast and that this was "managed to ensure that all activities were kept going and fully funded." The word "managed" jumped out at me. What does it mean for the taxpayer? Mr. Walsh also mentioned that, of TII's eight toll concession PPP contracts, "the traffic risk has been fully transferred to the PPP company". How does one align with the other? Do we retain an obligation in respect of any of the toll roads, tunnels or bridges to compensate for a shortfall in the traffic volumes forecasted?