Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The great lie that this Government has managed to spin over the past number of years is that the economic crisis is over. The truth is that the economic crisis has been rolled into a 40 year debt. Every year this State spends about €7 billion just to service the interest on that debt, a situation which will continue until about 2050. That €7 billion invisibly robs this generation and the next of the ability to invest in the infrastructure we need.

It seems that the Minister is seeking to be the Minister for the loaves and the fishes because she is spreading €60 million around 600 towns and villages. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport said secondary roads alone need €3 billion to bring them up to the required standard. We can contrast the €6 billion that is necessary with the €60 million that is so-called new money. It is not new money, rather it was press-released to death in the budget a number of months ago. This is money that has already been declared. I ask the Minister to identify the necessary funds to take this issue seriously.

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