Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I was taken aback by the Minister's opening statement when he said he would follow through on the previous Government's programme. I understood from what I read in the newspapers that he would be more progressive.

I do not want to be too parochial. When I came into public life, one of the major issues was the trans-European road network, which was a motorway from Belfast to Rosslare and Cork to Rosslare. It was a priority project in the late 1990s. Does the Minister have a timeframe for the project? It is fine to have lovely motorways between Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo and Dublin, but there is no connectivity in the western seaboard. The road network from Cork to Limerick and Limerick to Galway has not been completed. It is having a serious effect on local economies in terms of economic growth.

In recent weeks, the Minister said in the Seanad that he has no timeframe for the M20 from Cork to Limerick. It is an issue in Munster. It may appear to be a local issue, but it has an impact on the national economy and the western seaboard. Can we implement some town bypasses? Perhaps a Lego job could be done, and the motorway could be completed at a later stage. I know money is a major issue, and I am sure we will go down the PPP route, but I am concerned about the western economy and that its growth is being hindered by not having infrastructure to enable people to travel from Cork to Mayo and Donegal.

I am taken aback by the Minister's statement that there has been an increase in young people drink driving. I am shocked. I understood the problem with young drivers is that they are on the roads at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. doing doughnuts at the crossroads or even motorways - when I drive to Dublin I can see circles on the roads. I would like a breakdown of the data on fatal crashes. Rural Ireland is suffering. In terms of crime scenes in rural Ireland, if there are more gardaí present does that mean more people have been caught or that there are fewer robberies?