A 350 million euro loan to expand Dublin Airport has been described as a "wasted opportunity" by a European transport group.
Transport and Environment says the European Investment Bank should be concentrating on financing trams, trains and buses instead of motorways and airports.
The 20-year loan is the bank's largest ever investment in the transport sector in Ireland.
Andrew Murphy from Transport and Environment says the government could have done much better with the same sum.
"I think it's a wasted opportunity," he said.
"A lot of people, if they're stuck in crowded buses or they're stuck in traffic congestion, will be wondering what are the priorities of the government and what are the priorities of the EIB."
Murphy points out that the bank has only invested €150 million in public transport in Ireland in the last decade -- the sum spent on the Luas Cross City project. However, it's loaned €345 million to fund for motorway projects in that time.
"I think not only could investment in low-carbon transport be something that would help our climate objectives, but I think a lot of people in Ireland would actually just prefer it -- I think they'd prefer better public transport than simply expanding Dublin Airport once again," he Murphy said.
