Here we are, almost a decade later, and a metro system in Dublin is back on the political agenda again. The Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition agreed three years ago to build such a system but little progress has been made. The Government now has to decide whether it will give the go-ahead for the project. I strongly believe Dublin needs a metro system and do not think we will ever resolve our congestion problems until we have one. Every capital city in the European Union has an extensive metro system, with the exception of Dublin and Luxembourg. Luxembourg, a small city of less than 100,000 people, is hardly comparable to Dublin which has a population more than ten times greater, and growing. There are few who would argue against such a system for Dublin. Gone are the spurious arguments that an underground railway would not be safe for women, that houses and shops would fall into the tunnels, and that such a system is simply not affordable.