Motorways versus wage
costs
Dear sir - As the days of wine and roses (and surpluses)
draw to a close, we still see fit to pour money into that
rather vague notion of infrastructure. This, it appears,
is our master plan for hanging on to our economic good
times. For "infrastructure" we can read motorways. There
is no coherent plan for public transport, or public
anything, for that matter. But despite reports that a
knowledge-based economy is the way forward for our little
island, the government has a motorway-building agenda and
it wants to borrow money to push it through.
No amount of blather about critical infrastructure from
various departments, or hand-wringing from ISME, is going
to make any difference to a manufacturing company`s
decision to locate here. It is wages, plain and simple,
and on that score, we cannot compete with low-cost
economies such as those found in Asia, even if we pave
our streets with gold. Indigenous businesses and local
people do not require motorways - tolled ones at that -
to get around. Better public transport and rail is
required. This would also take the pressure off the road
network.
To sink millions of Euro into schemes such as the M3 will
not benefit the economy, but will cause huge damage to
our heritage and environment. Investing instead into
proper public transport, health, education and the
broadband network would make a lot more sense. Unless of
course, there is another agenda here. The silver bullet
solution promised by Public Private Partnerships has
turned out to be something of a dud for the public, but
not for those private companies which profit handsomely
from the deal.
One day perhaps, despite a few dodgy donations and
unwarranted pay rises, the PPP-era will be exposed as the
real scandal of our times.
Yours,
Declan Kenny,
2 Mill Lane,
Leixlip,
Co Kildare.
© The Meath Chronicle, 15th. December 2007.
Related articles:
Motorways not road to riches.
