Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

The Minister made the point that his revised programme is based on the need to deal with the economic constraints we are facing. Even if I accept that logic, I cannot see why the Government has axed the metro north project. I would like the Minister to give us some more detail on this. The cutting of this project does not save billions. In fact, it is the only transport project that is ready to go; within a matter of weeks or a couple of months we could have hundreds of people employed on the enabling works. The cost to the State over the next five years is only about €700 million, which is not excessive given that it would put to work thousands of construction workers. This is true; the Minister's staff can advise him. It is the State's contribution. The project is a public private partnership with two operators still in the pipeline. How can the Minister justify this given the impact it would have on the northside of Dublin in terms of job creation, economic stimulus and so on? It seems absolutely bizarre.

In the same context, what revisions is the Minister making in light of the new economic projections? We can save him money out in the north county - money that could be spent on the metro north - by revisiting the greater Dublin strategic drainage study. The Minister has confirmed his Government's desire to spend €2.5 billion on a new monster sewage treatment plant for north County Dublin based on projections made a number of years ago for dealing with waste water up to 2040. It is the assertion of many residents and environmentalists in the area that cheaper alternatives could be found through the development of more localised plants. Why is the Government confirming that this project is to go ahead when it could save money and have a greater environmental impact by treating waste water on a more sustainable basis? We would prefer the Minister to revisit that and divert the moneys back to the metro north.

See this speech in context