Dan Boyle (Green Party)

——within the lifetime of this Government or of the plan itself. From my party's viewpoint, we would like elements of Transport 21 to be rejudged in terms of which projects should be given priority. That was the nature of yesterday's exercise.

On the Senator's second question about the imposition of a congestion charge, a question was raised on this matter by a journalist having regard to the congestion charge in place in London. I can assure the Senator and other Members that such a congestion charge could and should be introduced only if there are proper public transport alternatives, which obviously are still not in place here.

On the question of whether we should have a debate on public private partnerships, Senator Fitzgerald alluded to the fact that while I was a member of the Committee of Public Accounts I had a report published by the committee. That report outlines the position in regard to openness and transparency in terms of contracts, a question raised by Senator O'Toole. We should have such a debate in the House. There are circumstances in which public private partnerships should be used, but there are circumstances where they are seen not to be working. If we can contribute to an ongoing debate on this matter, we will help in the provision of future infrastructure in this country.