Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The Green Party has consistently opposed the planning of almost every major piece of infrastructure. In the context of the country's development, I do not adhere to the backward-looking position taken by the Green Party. As a former Minister for the Environment and Local Government and as the Minister for Transport, I adhere to a balance between the environment and the economy. I told the House with confidence that we would achieve our targets by 2010 under the EU biofuels directive. We have set out to achieve our targets and many public companies and the private sector support us.

The Deputy has not mentioned our considerable investment in public transport. Almost half of the €34 billion will be invested in light rail, metro and heavy rail systems. In the context of the electrification extension of the DART system, the construction of the interconnector will make a significant contribution to the reduction of emissions, which the Deputy knows and chooses to ignore. This will be followed by expanding the rail network, restoring the western rail corridor, providing new commuter routes to Cork and Galway and examining extensive feasibility studies for Limerick and other cities. While the Deputy discusses these matters without contributing anything positive in terms of maintaining a balanced economy and competitiveness——

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