Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

That might be an idea. There might be two Brian Hayes'.

I commend the Minister of State on taking a personal interest in all the legislation going through the House. I think everyone will agree with what this Bill is trying to achieve. It will underpin confidence at home and overseas in the soundness of the Government's overall budgetary plans. That is important from the point of view of domestic and foreign direct investment. Unless there is confidence and the people who invest money in the country know the Government is managing it properly and in a planned way, these people will not invest in the economy.

Structural planning is very important and Senator Darragh O'Brien mentioned his own area. County Donegal also needs capital funding and structural funding which will provide local jobs. One project, the Bonagee bypass of Letterkenny, has been agreed. It is a 2 km stretch and a cost-benefit analysis was done in which it scored top marks, but the funding is not there. The main road into Letterkenny from Derry and Strabane serves not only Letterkenny, but the whole of north Donegal. Should an accident take place on the Port Bridge, it could be closed for 24 hours which would hinder economic and social activity in north Donegal and Letterkenny. It will happen some day because it is one of the busiest roads in the country, not to mention the north west. Letterkenny is now larger than Sligo town. Local people would welcome any move to show we have a strategy to spend money correctly, having done a cost-benefit analysis.

Over the years all Governments and not just the previous Government spent money coming up to by-elections or general elections. I am blame all Governments for saying they would fund a road or a school but did not do so. All parties in all Governments were guilty of that.

Our domestic economy and our public service have taken a major blow in the past few years and we must readjust. If we did not get our house in order, Europe and the rest of the world would say that they could not help us anymore and that they gave us the facilities to borrow money but that they cannot keep baby-sitting Ireland until it starts to look after itself. This is a step forward in that regard.

As Deputy Sean Barrett said, perhaps 12 months in advance, counties Donegal, Cork or Mayo should know €50 million, for example, will be spent on roadworks and that cost-benefit analyses is done on the work. I will write to the Minister of State specifically about the Letterkenny bypass and perhaps he will speak to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, about it because there is no dispute about the importance of the bypass. The route has been agreed and land has been bought. I think it will cost €15 million or maybe less, based on current construction costs.

This Bill is very important in terms of overall confidence in the country but the public must see the country is coming back from the major adjustment it has been through and see a practical advantage. Bypasses, sewerage schemes and so on benefit the public. I commend the Bill to the House. I hope the Minister of State will be in Donegal for the opening of the bypass in Letterkenny.