Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words, and I want to take up a point made by the previous speaker: his criticism of the lack of ambition in the capital programme. The ambition in the capital programme must be related to the relative position of the public finances. It is true to say the public finances have improved, but we are certainly not out of the woods. We still spend €5 billion more than we earn on an annual basis. If we continue to improve the public finances through prudent management it may be possible to add some additional projects in a mid-term review. There is no shortage of items for the shopping list that all of us in the House would like to see included. There are things I would love to have seen in the capital programme that are not in it, but it is grounded in reality related to the relative position of the public finances, and this is something we must bear in mind. It must be remembered this is borrowed money we are investing in critical public infrastructure. The list has been mentioned and includes housing, roads, broadband and hospitals. It is worth bearing in mind that when we came into office we could not borrow money in the marketplace because the interest rates were in excess of 15%. Now we can borrow money at the same interest rate as countries such as the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. This is because we are considered to be a good bet by people who lend us the money, as they think they will get it back. Perhaps if we continue to prudently manage the public finances, other items can be added in the a mid-term review.

I want to deal with a couple of issues which are in the capital programme, including the road from the county boundary in my constituency to a point east of Macroom, the Ballyvourney-Macroom N22 improvement. The cost-benefit analysis associated with this is one of the highest for any national road project. It is included in the five-year capital programme, and the critical issue is to get this project to a stage at which construction can begin. It is a long construction process and will take a number of years. We need to get it to a stage at which construction can begin as quickly as possible. The merits of the project speak for themselves. Regrettably, there have been accidents involving pedestrians and cars, including some fatalities. The economic benefit not only to Macroom and its hinterland but to the entire south-west region is inextricably tied up with the project, and I welcome its inclusion.

I share the views expressed by Deputy Fitzmaurice on broadband. I do not claim to be an expert on the technology, but as a representative of a rural constituency I have found that when one contacts eir, which we must remember is now a private company, and asks it to make an exchange broadband-enabled, unless it is on Patrick Street or the main street of the big town it is not interested. Of the €275 million included for broadband, which is as critical now to modern-day living as running water or rural electrification was many years ago, would it be possible, without compromising the national broadband plan, to direct some of this funding towards making a host of eir exchanges throughout the country broadband-enabled? The lessons we can learn retrospectively about how Eircom was privatised are myriad, but we must look forward rather than backwards, and perhaps this is something we could look at with a view to improving the service for many thousands of people the length and breadth of the country. Unfortunately, we will be waiting for the main players to arrive at a crossroads to deliver broadband. A consultation process on the national broadband scheme is ongoing, but we need something immediate. I do not know the cost of making the remaining eir exchanges broadband-enabled, so to some extent I am speaking in a vacuum, but I would like it be investigated. It would help improve the service for many people who do not have an acceptable level of service.

I want to speak about education, as €3.8 billion is available for investment in primary, secondary and third-level school buildings and universities. It is a great tribute to the Government that at a time of significant challenges in the public finances and a baby boom we were able over recent years to ensure every child had access to classroom space. Many school buildings are long overdue renewal. In particular I want to mention two schools which I hope will be included in the capital projects. One is De La Salle College in Macroom, which is looking for a new school with an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, element in it. Investment has been made in a number of ASD units at primary level in the region, but these children are moving through the education system and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure adequate facilities are available at local level. Unfortunately, at present, many of these children travel 20 or 30 miles to the nearest facility, and it would be appropriate, having availed of ASD units in many of the schools around Macroom, that they have an opportunity to progress to second level with a local ASD unit attached to a new De La Salle College in Macroom. The other school I want to mention - I am conscious that my time is practically up and I do not want to delay Deputy Breen, who I am sure has words of wisdom - is Clondrohid national school. It has multiple prefabricated classrooms and a number of ASD units, including an new temporary ASD classroom for next September. A new school was originally announced by Deputy Micheál Martin back in 1997 when he was Minister, but it still has not happened. The centenary celebrations were in 1996 and the then Minister, Deputy Martin, came down in 1997 and promised a new school, but it still has not been delivered. We need to look forwards, not backwards. Will the Minister for Education and Skills take these two specific schools into account in terms of the capital programme?

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