Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late for the Minister's remarks. He was positively purring when he delivered some of the macroeconomic statistics. I do not know whether it was a dress rehearsal for next Tuesday.

There are a number of issues with the plan. It should be viewed in the context of a lack of deliverable dates for many of its projects. This points to a failure to reform the delivery of large-scale projects. I do not mean this in a party political way, but our public service operates in a silo fashion, with one Department deciding one project while another Department is in charge of the regulations for delivering and planning that project, leading to projects not proceeding. It could be 11 years before a ticket is sold on the metro north. If we want to be a modern European economy with a capital city that strives to be one of the best not just in Europe, but in the world, surely we must be able to deliver such a transport system in less than 11 years.

The plan was announced with a great deal of fanfare and publicity, but alongside the announcement we lost the Web Summit. This was a statement on Dublin's lack of capacity to deliver on large events. Those behind the Web Summit want to move it around and it is a private company, but we must examine the concerns that were highlighted last year about, for example, Wi-Fi and hotel accommodation, which factor into this plan and its ambitions.

In 2008, before the onset of the crisis, €9 billion per year was invested in capital projects. While the Minister has acknowledged this, capital expenditure will only have reached approximately half of that level by 2019. Amid the fanfare and the spin, there are many gaps. I do not know whether we have weeks or months left in this House. Does even the Minister know? Regardless, proper respect for democracy and debate could be shown by having every line committee examine the plan and, within its priorities-----

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