Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, to the House for the debate on the mid-term review of the national development plan. This report is one of the most important to come before the Houses of the Oireachtas for some time. The national development plan is the Government's investment programme for the period 2001 to 2006 and covers most major investments in physical infrastructure by the State. Infrastructure is the major priority of the plan and the report acknowledges the importance of tackling the country's infrastructural deficit so that we can reach our full economic potential.

The report's recommendations are very welcome in critically evaluating our spending performance and the delivery of our infrastructure. The report highlights the need for value for money audits on all projects. If we fail to take heed of this criteria it will lead, inevitably, to further delays and cost overruns as evidenced in some of the major projects currently being constructed, such as the Luas and the Dublin Port Tunnel.

For the remainder of the plan, project selection will have to be rigorously enforced. Otherwise, some projects will be undertaken to the detriment of other, more worthy projects. We need to reappraise our spending on project selection at this mid-term point as the capital to complete all projects as envisaged in the original plan is now not available. This is due partly to previous construction inflationary price rises and also because of lower revenue accruing to the State's coffers.

The cost of future road building must be seriously addressed from a design perspective. Design of roads must be assessed on traffic needs and future growth patterns. If this was to happen, the requirement for full scale motorways from end to end to our main cities may not be necessary, although it may be accepted that major grade separated interchanges will be required on the edges of cities. We must ensure that we keep our prospective demand in sight. Otherwise, we may continue to spend unwisely.