The use of monies from the sale of semi-state companies to help finance the Luas Dublin light rail project had been effectively scotched by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, claimed Mr Joe Costello (Lab).
The Minister had made commitments under the EMU regime that the proceeds from such sales would be used towards the creation of a budgetary surplus or the reduction of the national debt, he said in a special debate on the Government's Luas proposals. So there was no way that monies from these sources could be spent on this project, he believed. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, assured the House that appropriate funding arrangements would be put in place to deliver on the Government's commitment to the project.
The possibility of private financing for infrastructure projects was being addressed by her Department and she expected it would be considered by the Government in the near future. She felt it would be prudent to await the outcome of Government deliberations on general policy in this area before taking any decision on the scope for private financing of the light rail project.
Mr Fergus O'Dowd (FG) stressed the need to deal with traffic pollution in our cities and towns, which, he said, was spilling out carcinogens here, there and everywhere. The Government decision on Luas would not make any appreciable difference to the volume of traffic in the capital.
Mr Frank McDonald, of The Irish Times, stood out in the journalistic field when it came to environmental issues. This writer believed the Cabinet's decision demonstrated that there was no political will to adopt the hard and potentially unpopular decisions which were required, at a minimum, even to begin sorting out Dublin's traffic problems, he said.
Mr David Norris (Ind) said Mr McDonald was a superb journalist who had done tremendous work for the city of Dublin, but he hoped that he would read the Atkins Report which had come down unquestionably in favour of the underground option.
Mr Helen Keogh (PD) expressed the view that a certain journalist who had been mentioned in the debate had abandoned any pretence to objectivity on this issue.
The leader of the House, Mr Donie Cassidy, pressed for consideration to be given to having three lanes for in-bound traffic on Dublin's main routes at peak morning hours, with a reversal of the arrangement in the late afternoon.
Ms O'Rourke said her officials would examine this suggestion.