Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the contributors. I agree with the sentiments being expressed. This is really exciting. It is wonderful to see Ireland on the map on an international level talking about the future opportunities in transport, particularly from a green perspective, and for us to be at the very centre of it. My question will sound petty but I do not mean it to be. The four-day event, the plenaries and the break-out sessions are all positive and progressive. We are talking about future innovations in a country where we do not even have an integrated ticketing system, where people coming out of our airport cannot get a train and were we have to fight with the poor taxi men as to where they should be. Do we ignore those deficits and all of the reasons for them or do we talk up that we are finally doing this, that and the other and the idea that we will get there? How do we manage that platform without looking somewhat foolish because of the length of delays in some of the transport projects?

There are other countries that we are envious of and that just take all of their advancements for granted because they have had them since the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. How do we manage to straddle that wire?