Seanad: Alarming comments have been made recently by the US Chamber of Commerce about infrastructure deficiencies in this country, said Shane Ross (Ind).
He described the situation in regard to infrastructure as "absolutely chronic at the moment". Anyone who wanted evidence of this should look at the very serious warnings that had been given by the US body in its submission to the National Development Plan.
"It said - and there were some alarming quotations which nobody seems to have noticed - that many executives of US companies are now saying: 'let's go anywhere but Ireland'. Anywhere but Ireland because access to the airports is appalling; that the infrastructure is really difficult. They can't move around at all, and they are urging their companies not to come here for that reason."
The Taoiseach might say that Google had this week announced 800 new jobs at the Grand Canal in Dublin. However, the significant thing was that it had opted to come to Dublin despite having been offered immensely attractive grants to go anywhere else.This is because "they can't get anywhere else".
House leader Mary O'Rourke said it was serious if the chamber was saying such things about our infrastructure because the would-be influencers in business were reading it and saying "oh". But they were also saying: "look, we have a good tax regime there, and we're well looked after."
It was a pure miracle that gardaí engaged in drugs busts had not been killed or seriously injured, said Joe McHugh (FG).
Gardaí were battling organised gangs with advanced communications. Yet the uniformed gardaí who were trying to counter drug deals and to intercept and identify the big players were "going in with neither guns nor batons nor bullet-proof vests".
He asked Noel Ahern, Minister of State with responsibility for tackling drugs, to take the matter up with the Minister for Justice.