It is possible that Leo Varadkar was indulging in some seasonal good humour when he described the unlikely notion of a bridge between Ireland and Scotland as `worth examining', but it was still a highly questionable comment from the taoiseach.
In fairness, Mr Varadkar stopped a long way short of endorsing the project in an interview last week and went on to stress that other transport infrastructure schemes on both sides of the border deserved to be given a much higher priority.
However, to have associated his office with the idea in any form, and to have seriously compared it to the existing Channel Tunnel and another established link between Denmark and Sweden, will have caused considerable surprise.
The shortest crossing point between Ireland and Scotland is the 12-mile stretch from Torr Head in Co Antrim to the Mull of Kintyre, but the western side is so remote, and so far from the main road system, that the option lacks any credibility.
Backers of the Scottish bridge are concentrating on the route from Larne to Portpatrick, which is a much more daunting 28 miles and the actual distance is probably the least of the difficulties involved.
Longer constructions have been completed in more hospitable terrain but the North Channel is a notoriously treacherous area, more than 1,000 ft deep in many parts, and prone to violent storms which would rule out construction work and force the suspension of potential traffic for much of any given year.
Engineers have estimated that over 50 support towers, up to 1,400 ft tall to allow shipping to pass, would be required, a feat unknown anywhere else in the world, at a cost well in excess of £20bn.
The builders would also have the virtually impossible task of dealing with at least 1.5m tons of unstable munitions dumped by British forces in uncharted locations across the bottom of the sea in the Beaufort Dyke after the Second World War.
Northern nationalists overwhelmingly regard the entire concept as ludicrous, rational unionists are embarrassed by it and its only Stormont advocates are in the section of the DUP which initially believed Brexit was a masterstroke.
Given that Boris Johnson managed to waste £50m preparing for another bizarre proposed bridge in London, which was due to be festooned with flowers and trees before its eventual abandonment, the Scottish debate should be quietly shelved before any further public funds are poured into murky waters.
