Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I could have been so lucky. She felt the quality of education in rural Ireland was better than in the city. My exam results might not have anything to do with that but might be a testimony to my lack of studiousness. The school building programme should be used in the regions to help absorb job losses in the construction industry and improve education infrastructure. The school in any parish, be it a two or three teacher school, is at the heart of the community. It does not stand in any way as a proud legacy for any of us that we have schools today in the west and in parts of Cork and Kerry and rural Ireland that are in a state of decline and decay.

It is important we continue to encourage indigenous micro-enterprises as they can play a large part in rural development. However, they need assistance from Government in the context of investment in broadband as this will help to improve our competitiveness in a global environment. Investing in broadband will also help the connectivity and accessibility of our businesses and enterprises for years to come. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, has huffed and puffed with regard to broadband but it is time for delivery.

Transport is an issue we should discuss. I know the Government will speak about the vast sums of money invested in roads and infrastructure and this is to be commended. However, its manifesto a few years ago stated, "a lot done, more to do". We should focus on the "more to do" part. Transport 21 was not scrapped completely in the budget. However, the pause button has been pressed on many of the projects. Phases two and three of the western rail corridor have been pushed back.