Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to indicate how he sees the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 progressing. Earlier this week the British House of Commons published a report on the horsemeat scandal, which is still very much alive despite the lack of media coverage. It is alive in the context of a lack of prosecutions. The report was critical of both UK and Irish Governments for what it described as lack of action in exposing fraudulent activities in the meat industry. One member of the committee, Margaret Ritchie, MP, of the SDLP, went further, stating that within the committee criticism had been expressed about Ireland.

The Irish interests were well-defended in that it was Ireland that initially exposed this scandal but according to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, who was on the media earlier this week, there is one prosecution pending. That is not enough. I would hate to think that people within the industry who acted fraudulently will get away with this just because the matter seemingly has been resolved. Restrictive procedures have been put in place to ensure this does not happen again. In that context, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is currently before the agriculture committee discussing the recent CAP reform decisions. The Leader might consider inviting the Minister to the House in the new session. It would be an opportunity also for him to expand on the horsemeat scandal in the context of the questions I have raised.

I was one of the members present at the transport committee meeting yesterday, and it has been widely reported in today's media, who raised the issue of the lack of sufficient funding for the maintenance of our primary national road network as distinct from our local and regional road network. On the previous occasion I raised that with Fred Barry, the chief executive officer, he indicated some concern in the National Roads Authority about the lack of adequate funding to ensure that the road maintenance programme would be maintained. The amounts we are talking about are running to billions of euro. I appreciate fully that the Government and the economy does not have that sort of resource but it seems to me, and I have made this point previously, that that it is "short-termism". A way should be found to come up with a sufficient amount of money, whether from the European Investment Bank or under the proposal now emanating from Government, to use some of the €1 billion promissory note savings on capital programmes because we must maintain our national road network, which is a vital artery in terms of our entire economic activity, to the required standards. That the funding has been cut from €600 million last year to €300 million when €1.2 billion is needed gives some indication of the scale of the problem. It would be worthwhile if the Leader invited the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to the House in the new session to outline the Government's thinking on this because it will be coming at a time when the Budget Estimates are more or less confirmed and it might give some succour, not only to private motorists but to the commercial life of this country, that our road network would not continue to crumble in the manner in which it now appears to have done, as outlined by some engineers.