Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator has made an important point about the consequences for the taxpayer when infrastructure is built for which there is either insufficient demand or when the level of demand for it changes.In my time as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have become increasingly aware of the integrated nature of the consequences of building or changing infrastructure over other transport infrastructure already in existence. For example, what happens to railway usage when we improve the road network or what happens to regional airport usage when we improve the rail network? These considerations must be borne in mind when considering how best to spend taxpayers' money in the future.

The role of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is now very much consolidated within the architecture of Departments and has demonstrated its value in recent years. I hope that when my Department and I publish our framework on how we believe we should invest in land transport in the future, the Senator will be assured many of the points he has raised have been understood by my Department and are mirrored in the way the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform appraises proposals from my Department.