Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

The Minister provided a significant amount of information in his response. I will try to focus on some of the headline parts and we can return on another day to other elements. Will the Minister and the Department recognise we face a threefold crisis? First, we have a crisis in terms of student numbers, which are growing exponentially; the highest birth rate since 1896 was recorded this year. Second, we have an already overcrowded school system and, third, we have a crisis in employment and in the construction industry sector. Is it not time to think outside the box and consider invoking the strategic infrastructure legislation where planning permissions are a problem, although the Minister has not said that they are and nor do I have evidence that they are?

Is it not essential to accelerate the building programme? The Construction Industry Federation and the schools' management authorities would say they cannot get a response from Tullamore quick enough to deal with the problems that confront them. I note from the Minister's response that he has made progress on some projects, but progress is slow relative to the demand in the construction industry for more work and its willingness to get started. If the Minister and Department officials in Tullamore are suggesting that builders are sitting on invoices and not submitting them because they are flush with cash, I suggest they should enter the real world. That is not the case.

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