Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The sub-committee was doing an analysis to see what was the best way to move forward. At the time, we had meetings with officials and others, but all decisions since then have been made by the full Cabinet. I do not disagree with the Deputy that the period ahead is crucial. The decisions will be made by the full Cabinet based on the assessment of the Ministers for Finance and Transport.

If there was a requirement for the Cabinet sub-committee to have a lengthier meeting to deal with the issue, we could reconvene it. I do not think that will be the case because it is an important issue and the full Cabinet should deal with it. Often, we use the Cabinet sub-committee system to do preparatory work but when it comes to the decisions everyone is familiar with, the full Cabinet would take them.

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