Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They are all important projects. It is all relative in terms of where one is and what one is doing.

In terms of the reality of the situation here, I have asked the Minister on a number of occasions this morning for the projected road fatalities and he has avoided the question. With all due respect, we have to be real about things here. The Minister has been given those figures. I know he has. Why can the Minister not address that in the House? What is the issue? Why can the Minister not face up to the fact that TII has given him these figures? This is the reality: because of the Minister's ideological position, the reality is that these people will die on the roads. It is something we should have a mature debate on in his House but the Minister cannot seem to even answer the question when I ask him.

I ask the Minister how many road openings has he been at. He has listed projects that are going ahead, but many of them started before he came into office. The Minister has an ideological disposition and that is the reality here. Am I just beating my head here against the benches when I ask the Minister about roads projects because it is quite clear he does not have the will? When I asked the Minister about the Tralee-Killarney road, I did not get any detail. I did not get any impression from the Minister that this is something he wants to see happening. It is an ideological position, but the Minister has to be aware that there is a cost to that ideological position and that cost is human life. As Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan has to stand over that.

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