Paul Bradford (Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

Under current rules and regulations, that is how it happens. It is very difficult to accept that it will be almost six years before the first physical piece of work commences on the rail link infrastructure. Forgetting the politics - because politicians and Governments will come and go - when a substantial block of money seems to be available for a national project, it is depressing to think it will be six or seven years before any work starts. We must look at fast-tracking significant infrastructural projects. If changes of legislation or of emphasis are required, so be it. It speaks volumes about how wrongly we plan and deliver things that we are willing to accept that it will be 2027, when all of us will be long gone from the House, before the first passenger will travel on that link. Surely infrastructural development must be facilitated in a different fashion. It is simply not good enough that a project that is wanted now will not happen for more than a decade. Rather than discussing a particular project, we should try to debate with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, how we can speed things up to deliver on this plan and make it work quickly. The airport link is the ultimate example, but there are other projects, including bypasses, tunnels and bridges. If it can be done in Canada and Australia five times more quickly, we should catch up.