The Minister is very concerned about the slow pace at which infrastructure is being introduced. Last year, the Government fortuitously announced three months prior to the election that it would build a metro. I remind the Minister that it proposed not only to build a section from the city centre to the airport, but a full length system from Sandyford to the airport. His reply was, therefore, incorrect in that respect. The Railway Procurement Agency, a committed and efficient organisation, then went about its work in a highly effective manner and presented a detailed report to the Minister in mid-November.
We are all concerned about the current delays. Why was the report delayed in the Department for seven months before being presented to Cabinet? The Minister has been giving out about the slow process involved in getting infrastructure built. Surely this case is the best example of this process. The Minister has a detailed report, yet it is clear from his answer that it will not be presented to Cabinet for a month or more. In what month does he envisage bringing the proposal to Cabinet?
If the Minister is not able to proceed with the project because the Minister for Finance refuses to allow funding to be allocated to public transport or for other reasons, when will he start making alternative proposals? It is not permissible for us to wait until legislation on fast-tracking infrastructure is passed before we approve the project. We cannot allow the current position to continue.
At the meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport this morning, we had a further example of what has been happening in Dublin for the past ten years, when another person came before the committee claiming to have found the magic solution to Dublin's transport problems and proposing that a certain type of system should be built. We now have utter confusion and the only person who can sort it out is the Minister by making a decision. When will he make a decision on the metro proposal and bring it to Cabinet?