Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Two pages would have been fine. If it was twice the size, it would have fitted on two pages.

I would like to make a couple of points on this issue. It is unfair to blame the county council in the manner the Minister of State has tried to do. It is trying to do the best it can from within its own resources. Its income has decreased. It is not allowed to keep the property tax. Certainly, some of it is going around the country. Anyone who tries to blame local authorities for not contributing money is missing the point completely.

The Government should reconsider the Smarter Travel fund. Fine Gael should be aware that it has become a slush fund for the Labour Party. It seems to me that the Labour Party makes all the announcements about the Smarter Travel fund. Some of the projects that have been announced under the fund are not necessary. They are being pursued at a time when roads are falling apart because of potholes. I urge the Government parties, particularly Fine Gael, to examine the matter. The fund is not doing what it should be doing.

We have got to look at spending. I repeat the point that there seems to be a difference of €400 million between what was in the IMF agreement and what the Government is committed to spending on capital expenditure in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. That is the nub of the problem. If we do not solve this problem, the standard of roads in Moynalty will become the norm throughout the country. If we do not get to grips with this problem, roads throughout the country will start to collapse.