Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Has the Minister decided what will be the total spend on the national development plan? Does he, unlike former Fianna Fáil Governments which, in the late 1970s, borrowed for consumption and led us on the road of economic ruin, propose to borrow to invest in the national development plan?

Will public transport and education issues be prioritised in the national development plan if revised? Is the Minister proposing to axe metro west and to downsize metro north? Will he agree that both decisions would be incredibly foolish and short term if the objective is to return us to competitiveness and economic growth?

I must confess that like former Deputy Charlie McCreevy, I am only a bean counter; I am not an economist or senior counsel. Multinational companies around the world carry out a rating score in regard to investment. What does that type of score do for Ireland's competitiveness and employment? Also, what is the cost of the project and the borrowing requirements in that regard?

The Minister spoke earlier about public private partnerships. The problem with PPPs, as the Minister should know from his earlier reply about banks, is that the cost to private investors of raising finance, owing to the absence of liquidity, has risen significantly. The Minister's comments leave me, a mere bean counter, with some degree of fear and trepidation. The Minister should forget about fancy words like "cost-benefit analysis" and set out, in language that those of us who are not economists or senior counsel can understand, how he is rating the proposed investments in the national development plan.

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