Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It also does not work for housing. We looked at a figure in the context of the national planning framework yesterday. Greenfield, car-based development puts an additional €115,000 on every housing unit compared with going with development based on public transport and compact development. It puts a cost of €115,000 on the Irish household. Not only does it cost you cash because you have to build all the sewers, paths, electricity wires, telecommunications and everything else, it also costs you because you are going to be stuck in traffic for hours. It is going to cost more to buy the house and you will be in an uncertain transport system. We have a lot to lose. Let us fund the alternative. Let us go with public transport projects. We will still do roads. We will do a lot of them, especially bypasses to help towns. That slogan is appropriate today as long as we do not have a lot to lose.