Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Urgent work is going ahead in Longford-Westmeath General Hospital. The Department of Finance is right to look for value for money. If one is going to invest large amounts of money, there should be a proper explanation of the value to be obtained from such an investment.

Senator Morrissey raised the matter of the Railway Procurement Agency and sought a debate on public transport. As he said, if the Luas can work viably, why not the buses? In a small country, trains will never be economically viable because one needs vast distances and large passenger numbers, as in Canada, to make rail transport profitable.

The Senator also asked where are the real criminals who would not agree to rezoning or providing houses at a reasonable cost. There will be some debate in this House if we get going on that. I look forward to it very much.