Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My objective is to be in a position to make a decision on this matter before Easter. I am not in control of all the factors but the plan is to be make a decision before Easter. Due diligence is still under way by the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Communications, Climate Action and Environment. As I mentioned, because the cost will be many multiples of what was originally anticipated, it will impact on the public finances. The events of the next couple of weeks will help us decide whether we can bear that impact on the public finances.

The impact in 2019 will be minuscule but there will be a significant impact in 2020, 2021 and thereafter. This project will take the form of a public private partnership and its cost will be spread over approximately 30 years so I do not believe it should involve a decision for this Government alone. The impact will also be experienced by future Governments. This is quite different from other projects that are in the news at the moment. That is why we want to be transparent about it and why we will want to consult the Oireachtas on it.

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