Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

To return to the Minister of State's missed targets, it would be the most callous action to close down institutions on the basis that primary care was to be available, if that primary care is not available. I remind the Minister of State that primary care does not come cheap. It is not as cheap as promises and it should be capable of lasting somewhat longer. This affects vulnerable people, those needing support and back-up. To do anything other than deliver would be appalling. Needless to say, nothing would surprise me because there are people on the other side of the House who are quite capable of doing just that.

The Minister of State suggested I refer to specific targets. Unfortunately, time does not permit me to go through that long list but given the opportunity, I would cite missed targets such as the Red Cow, the M50, the voting ballot boxes, the electronic ballot boxes that were never used. These are all missed targets. It is not so much missed targets as invisible targets and perhaps this is the reason they were missed. I could cite instances of failure to deliver on time, on price or within budget price. One of the major themes of this Government and its immediate predecessor has been its total, absolute and abysmal failure to meet any kind of price target. There has hardly been a project that has not doubled and quadrupled in price.

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