Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Quinn for sharing his time with me. We under-invested in public transport in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and we are now playing catch up, although in the late 1990s we corrected that. We have come a long way but we have a long way to go. We have begun to learn from some of our past mistakes. I notice when I travel to Dublin every week that on the road from Carlow to Castledermot the ditches of the new motorway route have been removed as it is planned to commence such work next March or April. With this action the authorities have ensured that birds will not nest in the shrubbery and thereby cause a delay in the carrying out of the proposed work. I am encouraged when I see such activities and forward thinking.

More road projects are coming in on time or ahead of schedule and on budget, which was not the case when I was member of the Joint Committee on Transport committee two years ago. That is encouraging and long may it continue. There are two ways to view projects that come in under budget. One is that it is good news and the other is to ask if those engaged in the project were wrong in their initial projections.

I am cynical about this plan. The reaction of members of public to it was amazing. I listened to reaction to it in the form of text messages and e-mails on the "Five Seven Live" radio programme. Members of the public are cynical about it and no one can blame them for that. They hear of a ten year plan, a period that could span the life of three Governments and six Ministers having responsibility for this area with the added factor that we do not know what will happen over a period as long as ten years. A week is a long time in politics, therefore, ten years is an eternity. We do ourselves a disservice when we introduce a plan covering too long a period. We must prove to the electorate that politics is worth investing in and that politicians can deliver. We need to ensure we can deliver on projects. The challenge facing the Government is for it to deliver on the projects covered by this plan.

I have received many complaints from landowners in counties Carlow and Kilkenny affected by the planned new motorway in term of CPOs to the effect that the NRA is difficult to deal with. The Minister should endeavour to ensure that the NRA deals sympathetically with landowners whose land is taken from them against their wishes. Everyone involved has complained that the landowners' plight is not dealt with sympathetically at the moment.

Which sector is Waterford Regional Airport geared towards? It is on the wrong side of the city and does not serve the south east. I have grave reservations about further State investment in this airport because it does not represent value for money and is not being used by sufficient numbers of people. I previously raised the issue of the poor condition of approaches into train stations around the country, even from the perspective of tourism. Could the Minister discover how much land around train stations is owned by Iarnród Éireann and whether it can be redeveloped and cleaned up? The poor state of this land creates an adverse first impression for people arriving in towns.