State urged to appoint minister for NDP

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern was urged yesterday to appoint a single minister to take overall responsibility for the implementation of the heavily under-funded and grossly delayed National Development Plan (NDP).

Opposition parties, reacting to concerns expressed by the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (IEI) on the troubled seven-year plan, blamed a lack of political leadership for the crisis.

Labour’s Joan Burton claimed: “All the recommendations made by the IEI will amount to little unless the Government shows some leadership on this issue.”