Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. I had to fight to ensure that this question was answered because up to now in this House the Minister has simply been saying it is not a matter for him but is a matter for the National Transport Authority. However, to approve public expenditure of somewhere between €2 billion and €5 billion is a Cabinet decision and therefore, it is the Minister's responsibility, in my view. I accept what he says with regard to the procurement process and the difficulty in giving an exact cost estimate at this stage to the House. I understand that despite claims by various people in recent days, the figure is closer to €2.5 billion than €5 billion.

My question is whether the Minister and the Government are willing to publish the business case for Metro North. This will be the biggest capital expenditure project we are likely to see approved over the next two to three years by any Government, whether this Government or another Government. For that reason we need to ensure that we calculate the opportunity cost, in other words, how else could the money be spent and whether we could get a bigger bang for our buck if we were to spend €2.5 billion elsewhere. It is Fine Gael's view that Metro North is justified, that it is value for money and will create many thousands of jobs. We are not willing to give a green light to a project until we see a clear, up-to-date business case which is on the Minister's desk and which he has not published. Will the Minister publish the business case or at least make it available to Opposition parties so that we can make an accurate assessment of the Metro North project?

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