Colm McCarthy

The constant refrain from politicians seeking to avoid decisions about the 32 million cap is to urge scheduled airlines to use Cork, Shannon and other regional airports. Yes, they have capacity, but there is a reason why.

Budgetary decisions can squander more than money. They can damage the credibility of economic management and undermine the capacity to make better decisions in the future. This is particularly true of capital projects.

The Government has never formally abandoned the Public Spending Code but one could be forgiven for imagining that it has. Every mistake in capital allocation means that, sooner or later, better projects must wait. 

The GAA insist the Casement Park project should go ahead without the five European Championship matches and the Taoiseach promises €50 million will still be available in their absence. What is the point?

Despite the Government's mantra, investment in public transport and capital infrastructure is sometimes a waste. That is why we have the Public Spending Code. Sadly, our politicians seems determined by bypass it.

Ireland’s first All-Island Strategic Rail Review has been launched, promising to treble rail passenger numbers across the island at a cost of nearly €60 billion. However, is the plan workable and can it deliver?

The government is publicly committed to the €2 billion Bus Connects project, a bargain alongside the €10 billion ballpark for MetroLink. But an even better scheme is available: Just free up the kerbside lanes of parked cars.

Whatever about the super elite, new transnational football leagues for disadvantaged European cities could happen very quickly. The top clubs in the League of Ireland need to get their skates on, as the current model is not working here.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has announced a new strategy to prioritise the development of the national rail network at the expense of the road system. It’s a plan that is fundamentally flawed and the politicians who promote it won’t be around to answer the questions when it fails.

Careful project selection is being supplanted with advance political commitment to unevaluated schemes, after which "delivery" becomes an obligation regardless of value for money.