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

I have already acknowledged and outlined to the House on many occasions how the costs in regard to the national children's hospital and the national broadband plan will not impact on the kind of issues the Deputy is referring to. Deputy Cowen earlier asked how we are going to pay for these projects and I pointed out that, in the period from 2021 onwards, when the costs of these projects materialise, we have added the cost of these projects to the expenditure plans for Government Departments, so they are not affecting the issues the Deputy is raising. The Deputy referred to the commute times that citizens face. Surely the roll-out of the national broadband plan and ensuring that more homes have connectivity to high-speed broadband access is a way in which we can respond to that. The national children's hospital is not about delivering a building. It is about delivering better care and better services and supports to vulnerable children, the kind of citizens the Deputy has just referred to in his question.

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