Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay. The Minister has the gist of my points. I would love to be able to get on a train to or from Wexford at weekends instead of driving in traffic that can be soul destroying. Rail is a beautiful way to travel. We must upgrade the system. It requires a great deal of investment. I have often stated how wrong it is that the EU does not have an arrangement under which governments can borrow money on the books at less than 2% to invest in infrastructure instead of being driven into public-private partnerships, PPPs, under which money can cost up to 15%. It does not stack up. It is another form of corporate welfare. The Government should be fighting tooth and nail for such an EU arrangement. This country needs major infrastructural investment not just in public transport, but also in social housing, as everyone knows. Money does not grow on trees, but the EU should play a more positive role in allowing the Government to borrow money at proper rates for investing in infrastructure, that is, 1.7% instead of 15%.

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