Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this important legislation. In years to come when it is used in respect of some of the largest infrastructural projects in this country, such as the metro or major environmental infrastructural projects, this Bill will be regarded as one of the most important passed in this Dáil term. The fact the Bill, when enacted, will allow these projects to proceed at a speed which is comparable to those of other modern developed countries will be regarded as a good day's work in this House.

Ireland has lagged behind the majority of countries in western Europe for decades in respect of its ability to deliver and roll out modern infrastructural projects in the areas of the environment, roads, rail and public transport which other western European countries have enjoyed for many years. We lagged behind in our ability to roll out and deliver this kind of infrastructure inside any reasonable timeframe because we lacked the resources to undertake these kinds of projects. When we finally acquired the resources, we played a considerable game of catch up and were unable to deliver these projects within the timescale employed by other European countries.

Even after we have acquired the necessary resources and commenced our major national development plans and major infrastructural projects, we still lag behind most developed countries in our ability to deliver these projects within a certain timescale. As Vice-Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, I visited Spain to examine the metro system in Madrid, which is one of the best metro projects in years. Due to their legislative framework, authorities in Madrid were in a position to build 48 km of metro track around Madrid in 36 months, or three years. We have been talking about building a metro system for the last six or seven years and when we eventually push the "go" button, I assure the House it will take much longer than three years to complete a system measuring only 8 km. Why is it that countries such as Spain and Denmark can apparently build these projects at will within a fraction of the time and cost it apparently takes us?

We asked the project leader on the Madrid metro, Professor Emanuel Melis, why his project could be delivered more rapidly than any Irish counterpart. The answer lies in a small anecdote. We were due to meet Professor Melis in Madrid at a proposed metro stop, which was being constructed at the time. We arrived at the proposed stop, which was simply a hole in the ground, at 11 a.m. and waited for Professor Melis for approximately an hour and 30 minutes. When he arrived at the site, he told the project managers, site foremen and workers to cease construction on the site and move operations approximately 200 m up the road. The reason for this was because the utilities in that area were not conducive to building a metro station at the site in question and it was impractical to build a station there. All the engineering advice available to Professor Melis suggested the station should be built approximately 200 m up the road.

It took 90 minutes for this decision to be made. Once the relevant Minister was briefed about the problem and certified that this project was one of national importance, it bypassed the normal system. It would have taken approximately 18 months for a similar decision to be made in Ireland and we wonder why authorities in Madrid can build 48 km of tunnel in 36 months when it will take us approximately six years to build 8 km of tunnel, a project which has not even commenced.

This is the question which this Bill seeks to resolve. When major national infrastructural projects are decided upon and a political decision is effectively made to build such projects, such as a metro system, Luas, the port tunnel or the proposed bridge from Foynes to Shannon Airport, with which the Leas-Cheann Comhairle is familiar, the State should accept political responsibility to deliver this project on time. Any objections should be fed into the system but the Government should take responsibility for any flak that develops and stand on its decision and plans to deliver this kind of infrastructural project. Every member of the delegation which visited Madrid was struck by the ability of other governments to make such decisions very quickly.

Professor Melis, a world-renowned expert in this field, likened every infrastructural project to an accordion and told us that the major plan of those behind such projects is to squeeze the accordion. He said it is necessary to compress every aspect of the project, from planning to delivery, into the shortest possible timeframe.

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