Ireland needs a 10-year programme of massive investment in infrastructure with substantial private-sector involvement, according to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney.
Outlining what will be a key Progressive Democrats proposal in any review of the Programme for Government, Ms Harney told her party's annual conference last night that a substantial proportion of annual budget surpluses should be spent on such a programme in the coming years.
She said this should be done in preference to using surpluses solely to pay off the national debt. Major private investment should be in addition to this Government spending.
The Progressive Democrats have said they would like to see a review of the Programme for Government, and party figures hope that will take place in agreement with Fianna Fail over a one-month period after the mid-June European Parliament and local government elections. How the massive budget surpluses that are continuing to accumulate are spent will be a key issue in any review.
Poor roads, railways, water and sewerage services placed a major constraint on the capacity of the economy to grow, she told the opening of the conference last night. Investment in those areas was "essential if Ireland is to remain a dynamic and successful economy, capable of competing with the best internationally".
We must recognise we were no longer a poor country, she went on. "We are generating surpluses. We are now big enough to stand on our own two feet in financial and economic terms."
Despite our wealth, the road network was hopelessly inadequate and the rail network was a long way behind other European states. That was "a major barrier to bringing job-creating industrial investment into the regions".
Better cross-Border links and motorways linking all major population centres were among the priorities, she said. "Industrial investors, whether Irish or foreign, will look much more favourably on locations in the north-west, the west and south-west if they are within easy reach of the main international ports and airports."
Such a programme of investment could only come about through significant private-sector involvement. "I don't want to see private sector activity replacing public sector activity. I want to see the overall sale of investment vastly increased, with the private sector taking on projects in addition to what is being done by the public sector."
Private-sector operators building public infrastructure were often quicker and more efficient, she said. Her party had always been committed to the concept of private provision of public roads, railways and other aspects of infrastructure.
"It is time that we started thinking big," she declared. "Building by-passes here and there is not enough: we must start building roads, complete routes between one city and another." A road from Donegal to Kerry, for example, would bring enormous benefits to the western seaboard.
There was also a need for major spending on national rail links and commuter services into major cities. Investment was required in water and sewerage services in order to make more land available for house-building to ease the upward pressure on house prices.
All this would cost a lot of money, she went on. Even with heavy private investment, a high level of public spending on infrastructure would be needed as well. Some of this money should come from the proceeds of the sale of State assets.
"Privatisation will generate very substantial revenues for the State over the next few years. I have no doubt that the flotation of State companies will be popular with the public and with the people who work in the State companies.
"Privatisation could bring in several billion pounds for the exchequer. We need to use some of that money to reduce our national debt further: that would, of course, be prudent.
"We must also recognise the enormous problems which are being caused by our lack of appropriate infrastructure, and it would be very imprudent if we did not allocate a substantial proportion of our fiscal surplus for investing in badly needed capital projects."