Derek McDowell (Labour)

The Minister of State suggested that we on this side of the House were reading Harry Potter novels during the summer. My life is much sadder than that. I have been reading the New Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Public Transport, published by his Department in August 2002. The nature of its fantasy makes Harry Potter seem rather mild. I read The Proposal on Public Transport Infrastructure, published by Forfás in the same year, which is total fantasy. I also read A Platform for Change, to which the Government committed itself three or four years ago. It is full of wonderful fancy diagrams, which is in the realm of fantasy. I would be more than happy to come back here in two years' time and present the Minister of State with that diagram and if he can fill in any of those lines, I would be surprised.

None of us is complaining about the fact that eggs must be broken to make an omelette but about the fact the Minister is flinging around eggs with gay abandon with no particular planning and to no effect. The problem is that for years we have been spending much money and getting virtually nothing for it.