Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the pending retail IPO of AIB. It is the view of the Fianna Fáil group that the Minister, Deputy Noonan, should press the EU for a relaxation of the fiscal rules to allow the proceeds from the sale of the stake in AIB to be used for capital investment.

Not a day goes by in this Chamber when one of us does not raise the issue of homelessness, substandard maternity and children's hospitals, poor rail and transport services and underinvestment in our schools. We believe the proceeds from the sale would be better used for investment purposes than debt reduction, given the needs of our citizens at this time and on the eve of Brexit. Our party spokesperson, Deputy Michael McGrath, has also written directly to the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, urging him to reform and review the fiscal rules in order to facilitate additional capital expenditure in member states and, in the case of Ireland in particular, to allow the use of the proceeds from the sale of AIB and future proceeds from NAMA for investment in capital developments such as housing, hospitals and schools.

Deputy McGrath highlighted the fact that capital expenditure diminished significantly during the economic crisis and we currently had a serious infrastructural deficit. He made the argument against a backdrop of historically low interest rates and the view from the EU that low interest rates will continue for some time. I call on the Minister for Finance to reconsider this matter and for a debate in this House on the sale of AIB before the matter is concluded.

I welcome the new traffic management measures introduced by Dublin City Council, albeit that they have been introduced in a haphazard fashion. There has been a devastating road traffic accident today on the Kimmage Road Lower, in which a vehicle overturned, and I hope that nobody has been hurt. We need to look at road safety more vigorously in this country and I call for a debate on the subject in this House.