Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

This was going to deliver the economic nirvana towards which we were heading. I am sure the Minister has the progress report for 2007 for his bed time reading, as it contains some very worthwhile things. The programme was to be delivered in full, on budget and on time. This was the great mantra that was repeated time and again on posters, on the back of buses and everywhere else. None of the five Transport 21 projects has been delivered yet. Spending is 97% off on strategic energy infrastructure. It is 50% off on broadband expansion, 50% off on waste infrastructure, 65% off on ICT in schools, 100% off on the delivery of primary health care centres, and 30% off on affordable housing. We were led to believe this was a Government that was focused on the need to modernise our schools, to have a broadband structure that would span the country and that would have the highest quality energy infrastructure. Instead, we find the Government is 60% off on all of these priorities. All this has happened before money got scarce.

The truth is sad and it is hard for the Minister to face up to it. Ministers have come into this House and have articulated strategies that have been without foundation. We had a climate strategy for eight years, but we delivered no impact on our carbon emissions. The health strategy has delivered 20% of its ambitions. We had a decentralisation strategy, which thankfully is being buried, but the Government has to wait for some outside agency to tell it that the programme has collapsed. It delivered 20% of what was promised.

At least Charlie McCreevy had the good grace to say that if Ministers promise a strategy but do not it on time, then they should be sacked. Of course, Charlie McCreevy was the one who got sacked.

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