Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I agree with the points made by Senator O'Meara on the debate at the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and with what was said by Senator Hanafin. Competition and the duopoly which was mentioned are matters on which we could usefully have a serious debate. We should acknowledge the very constructive manner in which the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has dealt with the issues. He has displayed great interest and flair in the manner in which he has tackled what are fairly complex issues. Most objective commentators and observers agree that the initiatives the Minister has taken have proven to be quite effective.

It would be useful to have a debate on the recently announced programme of the National Roads Authority in the not too distant future. I am concerned about the lack of investment in projects in the south east where there is a real need for road improvement. Much of the south east would have qualified for Objective One status if it had been contiguous with the BMW region. We also need to examine the value for money we are getting in some instances. I acknowledge that the M1 is a tremendous success. It represents the standard for which we should be aiming. On the other hand, the N11, which is the route to Wexford along the coast, has 40 mph speed limits despite the investment of considerable amounts of money in a dual-carriageway. It begs the question of why we are investing in roads. The answer is obviously to facilitate improvements in the operating costs of business and industry by providing them with roads commensurate with that objective. Obviously, someone in the NRA does not appreciate that which is why a debate would be useful.

On the Order of Business, the Leader outlined that the time limit on the debate later will be eight minutes per grouping. While I will accept that in this instance, in future the time allocated should reflect the fact that Fianna Fáil represents 50% of the Members of the House. Time should not be allocated on a group basis as there is a huge disparity in numbers.