Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

——but the reality has been, since the foundation of the State, that private equity did not always come forward. The Deputy's predecessor party, which was very sparing when it came to public expenditure, saw in the 1920s that it must make an exception to that rule, and established the Shannon hydroelectric scheme. There is nothing new in providing finance from the taxpayer to ensure the necessary infrastructure is put in place.

See this speech in context