Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

One of the pioneers in the modern aviation sector was Monsignor Horan. He always appeared to enjoy the cut and thrust of defending his vision while at the same time getting on with the work. The Minister is the same. He enjoys the cut and thrust of debate but, most importantly, he gets on with the work. In fairness, he is a straight talking Minister. There is a minimum of waffle. One knows exactly what he is talking about and can understand it, even if one is a lay person in the context of that discussion.

Generally, people welcome good news. This Bill is about good news. For a long time we talked about the difficulties on the M50. Senator Wilson outlined the statistics today. It is possible that through-flow per hour will be four or five times greater than it is at present as a result of barrier-free tolling. That is the bottom line. It is good news. Indeed, it is as a consequence of good news that we are discussing this Bill today. Our economy has been almost miraculous and the spread of wealth across a broad sector of the population means there are more cars because more people are driving to more jobs.

Senator McDowell has always been reasoned and balanced in debates.