Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I approach this subject with caution. I will first deal with the transport issues. The N3 is congested and a road to Navan, built to at least motorway standard, is needed, although a legitimate question has been raised, which can also be raised about all motorways, which is what happens when one reaches the M50. We all know that one spends at least three quarters of an hour getting to one's destination.

Senator Paddy Burke is not accurate about the N1, N2 and N3. If one is travelling across the Border, one is supposed to travel along the M1 before taking the Ardee turn off. One uses the M1 between Drogheda and Dundalk so that one does not travel on the N2.

I fully agree with the comments about rail but there is a rail line between Drogheda and Navan, which is used by Tara mines. It would cost between €15 million and €20 million to relay the line and provide a station. The strategic rail review recommended a line to serve Navan but that will take the best part of a generation the way things proceed and a line to Clonee will only bring one so far. I am always frustrated by transport debates in that where we have infrastructure, we do not propose to use it and, instead, we prefer to speculate about vast engineering schemes, which might, if we are lucky, be completed in 15 or 20 years instead of doing simple, relatively inexpensive jobs, which help to solve the problem.