Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am all in favour of making sensible decisions. I take on board the Deputy’s point. He has said we should not get carried away with the investment, but, at the same time, we should acknowledge its scale. The investment programme, to be implemented, will over its lifetime bring investment in national infrastructure up to and in excess of €5 billion per year, which represents a very significant increase. The Deputy made reference to the previous level of investment, in respect of which he is correct, but a consequence of that level was that many national infrastructural needs were met.

The Deputy asked me whether I would consider changing the schedule of the capital review. It is due to take in place in 2017, which means that it is imminent. However, I take the Deputy’s point that we should find some way to signal to the country and the industries that will be involved in building this infrastructure what the level of additional investment will be and when it will materialise.

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