Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Not only do they need to go ahead but they must also come to fruition. They cannot be stalled in a piecemeal manner. The major components of Transport 21 are centred around the hub of Dublin. The commuter belts around the rest of the country must be considered in a balanced way. The bus strategy for rural Ireland, involving Bus Éireann, does not inspire confidence. The company has been allocated approximately €23 million to buy 75 replacement buses. That these buses are not new means many communities will not benefit from the investment.

Regional airports are having their investments delayed due to the deterioration in the health of the public finances. This implies that essential infrastructure and equipment upgrades will not take place. This morning the director of Ireland West Airport Knock, Liam Scollan, said the airport tax introduced in the budget will devastate the airport. According to The Irish Times, he stated a reduction of between 5% and 10% in passenger numbers into Knock "would result in a loss of between €5.2 million and €10.5 million in tourism revenue to the region — far more than the revenue collected". Today Aer Lingus spoke about a €30 million hit as a consequence of the tax. On one level we are announcing massive plans while, on another, we are making cuts. Is it a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Will the Atlantic road corridor, due for completion in 2015, proceed? Will the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, create a stop-gap? Already we have seen the postponement of construction of part of the Cork-Dublin motorway. What is the position on the Rosslare-Waterford road project? I hope transport infrastructure in rural areas will not be neglected in favour of the metro in Dublin. Although we need a metro, we need sustainable and viable rural infrastructure.

The Minister did not mention broadband in his address. It is a major issue for rural development. Fine Gael has always stated and has produced documents on the fact that we should support high-speed wireless connectivity to areas too remote to justify ducting and fibre-optic connections. This will help our competitiveness in a global market as IT becomes an integral part of our economy. Foreign companies are still attracted to such connectivity and it will influence their decision to invest here. Ireland is 33rd of 35 countries in terms of average Internet speed, behind countries such as Mexico and Turkey. Will the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs apprise the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, of this? We need to consider this.

The national spatial strategy states regional development is essential. Amenities such as hospitals, schools and child care facilities are essential in rural Ireland. With the cutbacks in education, the amalgamation of hospitals and the creation of centres of excellence, I, as a schoolteacher, believe we are sending a wrong message to the three-teacher and four-teacher schools in rural Ireland. I would like to hear the remarks of the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, on this. We should not be closing schools in rural Ireland and amalgamating them with others.