I call for a debate on the capital programme announced yesterday by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. It is important from the outset to state any increased capital spending is to be welcomed because we have been starved of capital funding, not only from the Government but also from the previous Government because of what happened in the economy.

We need to see more capital investment and make sure the roads and the social and economic infrastructure of the State are world class. For that to happen, we must have investment. However, there is no doubt that there is a veneer of electioneering going on with all of these announcements. The Government owes it to all of us in the Opposition to bring those plans into Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann to allow us to properly debate the issues and examine closely what has been announced. If one considers what has been announced for my own city and county of Waterford, one realises that they are mostly projects that were announced previously and are in the pipeline. They have been repackaged and sold as new projects when in fact the funding or commitment is not new at all. Obviously, everything that has been announced is good news, but to be fair to the Oireachtas and the Seanad, in particular, we must be given an opportunity to debate the capital plan with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to ascertain his exact plans and to determine what additional funding will be provided over and above what was already earmarked. If we are to continue with this process in the coming weeks and months, with everything being seen from an election perspective, the best thing the Government could do, given all of the current speculation, is to call a general election before the end of the year. That is obviously a matter for the Government, but I call for that debate, given that there was a high-profile launch and press conference yesterday by a number of Ministers. They must come into the Chambers to which they are accountable and debate the issues with us.