Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I live almost as far away as is possible from the M50 and my experiences of that particular toll bridge are those I would associate with the worst kind of monopoly. The last time I was there, the signage was indifferent to the customer. A little sign read "Toll Ahead" and by the time one got close enough to know what lane one should be in, one was already in a lane. By the time one found out how to pay, one was almost at the plaza. Not having proper signs far enough away to tell people where they were going, how they could pay and how much to pay shows extraordinary indifference to customers and is classic behaviour of a body that believes it has a cosy monopoly and does not need to think for a second about its customers.

I am intrigued by the fact that over the past ten years we have gone to elaborate lengths to break down public sector monopolies and to create semi-artificial markets, as with the ESB, to try to have competition, while at the same time we are effectively protecting private sector monopolies. Comreg is now threatening to reimpose price controls on Eircom because of rip-offs. What is Government about if it is not to able to do something about a manifestly appalling contract? I do not accept that it is impossible to look at that contract again. Currently, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, is endeavouring to renegotiate the contracts of thousands of hospital consultants because she does not like them. One solution an economist has suggested, if the contract will not be renegotiated, is to build another bridge that people can use for free and NTR can live with the consequences. I despair sometimes when I read ministerial scripts. According to the Minister, the key differences from the 1987 deal are competitive tendering processes, specialist traffic and financial advice. Did we really make major capital investments in this country without specialist advice?