Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Yesterday we asked for the Minister to come before the House to make a detailed statement on the issue and to take questions. It is extraordinary that every newspaper, radio and television programme has been able to debate the issue while the one place it cannot be debated is Dáil Éireann where the elected representatives of the people are. It speaks to the irrelevance of the House in terms of topical issues. This is a serious issue involving a significant degree of public expenditure, with €500 million being borrowed. Many issues were raised yesterday in the context of Leaders' Questions in a restricted format. That is not adequate for such a major decision. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government said this was the biggest decision since the formation of ESB in the 1920s.

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