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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Feb 2010

Vol. 701 No. 4

Priority Questions.

Harbour Authorities.

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

71 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport if he will publish in full the response he received to a memorandum, dated 4 May 2008, relating to Shannon Foynes Port, County Limerick (details supplied); if he will establish a departmental investigation based on the findings of the Deloitte report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6847/10]

I have already dealt with this matter in detail in the House on 9 December last in response to a priority question from Deputy O'Dowd. Allegations regarding corporate governance misconduct in Shannon Foynes Port Company first arose in 2006. Throughout this controversy my predecessor and I were, as shareholders, kept informed by the company. Our advice was that the matter was best left to the company to deal with internally.

Regarding the Deloitte report, my legal advice is that I must respect the confidential basis on which the report was given to my Department. The report contained a number of recommendations for improving corporate governance procedures in the company and the board has confirmed that these have been implemented. Furthermore in September 2008, I appointed a new chairperson and five other directors to the board of the company to provide renewed leadership and strategic direction to the company.

With regard to the memorandum referred to in the Deputy's question, access to most of the response I received from my Department was granted to the Deputy under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Department is prohibited from releasing certain information, such as legal advice.

As stated previously, I am aware that some matters relating to the company have been brought to the attention of both the Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

I received letters making allegations which I brought to the attention of the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Garda.

Is it not a fact that on 2 May 2008 the Minister wrote the following in a memorandum?

"Is there any truth in the story that land sold to a private Co. was not sold in accordance with proper governance procedure + that the land was subsequently sold for c. €12m? Copies of the newspaper [Limerick Leader] report, please.”

The Deloitte report into this and other activities in the Shannon Foynes Port Company found that there was no competitive tendering in the sale of the site; there was no public auction; there was no proper valuation; and there was no record of board approval to enter negotiations. We now know that a company bought that site, which was valued without proper valuation. It was sold two and a half years later for €12 million. There are serious and significant issues regarding corporate governance. An internal memorandum within the organisation that has been brought to my attention states: "Koala (to the sounds of violins and heavenly Choirs) and hopefully this is teed up for you to make the kill." The Koala site was 16.6 acres of land that was sold without due and proper process. It is not acceptable that the Minister will not institute, as this request is, a departmental inquiry into what happened, why it happened and who benefited. I do not accept the Minister's answer is adequate.

I am aware of all of the matters the Deputy has adverted to, including the newspaper reports and other information the Deputy has, apart from the latter one. All of this went to the bodies that should investigate if there is wrongdoing, including, first, the board itself. We have had a newly constituted board since September 2008. The issues of alleged fraud and anything else are matters for the Garda. Issues regarding corporate enforcement should be passed to the Director of Corporate Enforcement. We have done all that and investigations, as I understand it, are not proceeding on the basis of any of the complaints that have been made.

I do not accept the Minister's response. What is blacked out, and the piece I want, is the reply the Minister got on the sale of those two sites. I accept legal issues cannot be given to me. The piece that is blacked out under the heading "Review of the two property transactions" is what I want to know. What was written for the Minister? What was his report? What does he know that he is not telling us?

The Minister is also aware that a boat was hired for two years by the company. It was decided that an executive of the company would make the decision on the successful tender. The file is missing and the successful tenderer was the official of the company who made the decision to give it to himself. Is it not time for this to go a stage further and for the Minister, as the only shareholder in Shannon Foynes Port Company, to insist that all these files and all the information, which he has and some of which I have obtained recently, should go to the fraud squad? Is not time to call in the Criminal Assets Bureau? Some 16.6 acres of the most valuable land in Foynes harbour is gone and somebody made a killing on it. It is not good enough that the Minister can pass it off. He should be proactive in insisting that the Criminal Assets Bureau gets involved.

As I have already informed the Deputy, I brought all the allegations I received on the matter, which are in the public domain and which the Deputy is repeating, to the attention of both the Garda and the Directorate of Corporate Enforcement. The Criminal Assets Bureau is a unit of the Garda and it is free to investigate the matter if it feels there is a case to investigate. Regarding the memorandum I received back——

It is blacked out.

Regarding what is blacked out, under the Freedom of Information on each one of those, I had no hand, act or part in deciding what went back to the Deputy. Regarding the freedom——

The Minister knows what is in it. Will he not tell us what is in this report?

Allow the Minister to reply.

The Minister should be accountable to the Dáil.

Regarding this file, the parts that are blacked out are blacked out in accordance with the laws of the land and I had no hand, act or part in that.

Road Network.

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

72 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport if he will report on the 2010 funding allocation for the maintenance and upgrading of non-national and regional roads; if the €730 million allocation to local authorities for the maintenance of national roads represents a decrease in their road maintenance budget by one third; the figure that local authorities have estimated as the bill for roads that were seriously damaged during the recent weather conditions; if the bill for the road repairs will be as much as €1 billion; the amount of extra funding that will be allocated to local authorities; the way he envisages the national roads strategy developing after 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6646/10]

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is a statutory function of each road authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants. I have asked local authorities to provide details of exceptional road-related costs associated with the recent flooding and prolonged severe weather, which fall outside the normal financial provision for winter maintenance. While some information is still outstanding, the total cost is likely to be only a fraction of the €1 billion referred to by the Deputy. I will assess the returns from local authorities and take this into account when allocating the regional and local road grants for 2010.

The figure of €730 million quoted by the Deputy appears to be taken from an NRA document outlining the allocations to local authorities for maintenance, operation and improvement of national roads during 2010. Copies of the document were placed in the Oireachtas Library last week. I would like to point out that the total funding available to the NRA for national road related work in 2010 is almost €1.16 billion, not €730 million.

Turning to the national roads strategy post 2011, it has been necessary to review the investment priorities across all Departments because of the economic downturn. My Department's Transport 21 priorities for national roads are the completion of the five major interurban motorways, the M50 upgrade and the progression of the Atlantic road corridor. I will also be seeking to maintain the current level of funding for regional and local roads in the years ahead.

While I accept the €1.1 billion as a total figure, did the Minister not slash the road maintenance figure by €325 million, or one third? In this year of all years following the flooding and the big freeze the Minister has slashed the budget by one third. The Minister has said he has requested a report from the local authorities. When will he get that report? Will he be informed, for example, how many kilometres of regional and local roads have been severely damaged? In other words will he request a total audit of the road situation following the two natural disasters? Would the Minister agree that local authorities are completely in the dark as to what will happen to the maintenance and repair of these roads? It is not just a maintenance issue, as my Fine Gael colleague knows very well. It is also a very serious road safety issue. I remember receiving a call from my colleague Councillor Willie Quinn in Carlow from a crater in the middle of a major road outside Borris. Along with 1,000 councillors throughout the country, he is deeply concerned about the state of the roads. Has the Minister given a deadline to local authorities to go to work to supply the report? What kind of extra funding will be provided?

We asked the local authorities to do this immediately after the end of the severe weather spell and most of them, although not all, have submitted estimates of the damage. We are working on the basis that they have done some type of audit themselves of the roads to arrive at the estimates they have given us. We will work on that basis.

I cannot accept that the local authorities are in the dark. They know exactly what the situation is and——

They told us they were in the dark.

I do not recall them saying that. If they were in the dark they would not have been able to produce the type of figures they have come up with which are——

They have no choice.

Let the Minister answer.

The figures are obviously based, in most cases, on some semblance of audit and reality. That gives us a good basis for clarifying the situation relative to the €1 billion that was being touted by an economist on the radio some months back. I hope his economic statistics are more accurate that his roads' figures. We normally give the local authorities permission to spend the equivalent of 10% of the previous year's allocation in the first few months of the current year before they receive their formal allocation. This year, however, we have allowed them, if they wish, to go as high as 25% of that allocation to deal with the emergency situation.

I have three brief final points. When will the Minister announce the budget for the regional roads? The Minister will agree that he will be forever known as the "Minister for snow". Since the catastrophe of the big freeze, has he made any changes to the protocols for clearing footpaths or estate roads? Is there any procedure whereby the country can call a national emergency? What is being done about that?

Finally, regarding road safety and N17, for example, besides a small amount of funding the NRA has announced this year, when will the full works on that road be carried out in Galway and Mayo? When will the Wexford road, the N11, and the Mayo road, the N5, be finished? When will the Sligo road, the N4, be done? The Minister says that 2010 will see the end of the national road building programme. That is a desperate prospect for many commuters all over the country. The Minister has failed a large part, if not all of the island, as the "Minister for snow".

I am always flattered by Deputy Broughan at Question Time. I seem to be Minister for everything, according to him.

Deputy Dempsey is known as the "Minister for snow". Previously he was known as the "Minister for e-machines".

I thought he was trying to give that title to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley.

That was because the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, was not around.

Allow the Minister to reply.

The roads funding allocations will be done within the next two weeks with the local authorities. We want to leave matters as flexible as possible for the local authorities and we are trying to do this with the allocations.

In relation to clearing footpaths, local authorities do not need protocols from me or anybody else in that regard because that is their responsibility.

What about householders?

They all know the situation that arose is being looked at by the local authorities. As regards the national emergency element of the Deputy's question, there are very clear guidelines in relation to what has to happen and who is responsible in the national emergency plan.

Shane McEntee

Question:

73 Deputy Shane McEntee asked the Minister for Transport if he will protect the investment made in roads here by committing to fund their repair following the recent weather conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6848/10]

I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority. Approximately €1.115 billion will be spent by the NRA on national roads in 2010 and the allocations to local authorities were recently published.

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is a function of road authorities under section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. The selection, prioritisation and carrying out of works on these roads is a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants.

When Exchequer grants for regional and local roads are allocated each year, my Department does not hold back a reserve allocation to deal with weather contingencies, as this would mean a reduction in the allocations made to all local authorities at the beginning of each year. The allocations made to local authorities are inclusive of a weather risk factor. They are expressly advised in the annual road grants circular letter that they should set aside contingency sums from their overall regional and local roads resources to finance necessary weather related works.

I have asked local authorities to provide details of exceptional road related costs associated with the recent flooding and prolonged severe weather, which fall outside the normal financial provision for winter maintenance. I will consider this information when deciding on the allocations, which I will announce shortly. A key priority will be to safeguard the considerable investment in the road network over the past ten years and to carefully target resources to address on a prioritised basis the most urgently required repairs.

I thank the Minister for the information. Before I address that I want to make the point that I went to a meeting in Foynes——

The Deputy is on a different question now.

I know, but I just want to make the point. It was totally and utterly distasteful for me as a public representative that I met people who were being paid by the State and who——

The Deputy cannot read a question in another Deputy's name on Priority Questions.

I know that. They could not answer questions put by me as an elected representative.

The Deputy is now using up his time.

I just wanted to make that point. Regarding the roads, I realise the cold weather crisis is over, but the Minister and I are both realists, as well as coming from the same county. We both travel to other counties and the damage to the roads over and above normal as a result of the weather conditions we have had is only now becoming evident. No matter how it is done, in the current circumstances, whether through lack of funding or the bodies working on the ground, it is simply not good enough to say the allocations are in place and this what the local authorities can do.

I know that I am slow in getting to my point, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

It is Question Time.

Let me make my point, please.

I am afraid the Deputy must put a question in Question Time.

I will put a question to the Minister, when I am finished.

No, the Deputy must put a question now.

Does the Minister agree that we cannot continue to ask our local engineers, whether in Tipperary, Cork or anywhere else, to continue to repair our roads? We are now coming into the busiest part of the year for tourism and agriculture-related business, with people moving out of their houses. The number of staff in the county councils has been cut by nearly a third relative to what they should be. Does the Minister not believe it is time for him, along with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to give the authority to county councils to hire people who are lying idle with their machines for a six-month period to repair all the roads at the one time? I am hoping the Minister will provide the investment because the current arrangements amount to false economy. Without the manpower it cannot be done.

I will be providing almost €412 million to the local authorities for their roads programme. I will also be giving them the flexibility to prioritise the roads that have been damaged. We will not stick to the normal 13 or 14 headings in the funding. Now that the local authorities have identified the roads that are damaged, we will ask them to prioritise and repair them. This could mean other works which might not have been in the pipeline immediately will be done this year. As this money is being allocated, I am asking the councils to address the concerns that have been expressed by Members of the House and their local public representatives to ensure that the roads which were damaged are repaired as quickly as possible. There is no bar on local authorities either outsourcing or hiring contractors to do the work. It must be addressed in the most effective and efficient manner. No doubt, they will have to get value for money during the summer months, in particular, but they will be given maximum flexibility in that regard.

The figures show that the Minister is spending almost €500 million less but the damage involved is enormous. Limerick City and County Councils are facing a bill of €2 million in relation to damages, while the figure for Carlow County Council is €7.5 million. The figure for our county is €2.4 million, while it is €2.5 million for Westmeath. The Minister and other Deputies from County Meath along with those from every other country are aware that the available staff are being curtailed at the moment, regardless of any money the Minister allocates. They cannot do overtime or take on extra help. The Minister must give the go-ahead immediately to allow for the repair of all the roads at once and not curtail what we anticipate will be, hopefully, a better summer at home for our tourism trade.

They way in which they go about this work is entirely up to the local authorities. The grants we give are to supplement the local authority grants. The local authorities should make the best possible use of the money, whatever that may be. I do not intend to start micro-managing them. There is a need to focus on the damaged roads which must be improved and which are important for economic activity and so on.

Part of the reason why roads money has been reduced during the past couple of years is because of the economic circumstances in which we find ourselves. A lesser national cake means a lesser portion of it for transport. Notwithstanding that, local authorities must look within their resources to prioritise. From the point of view of road safety and economic activity, road services are and should be priorities for the local authorities this year. I call on them to try to ensure they maintain or increase the amount of money available for roads work this year.

Road Signage.

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

74 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport if he has reviewed the European Safety Council’s briefing, Setting Appropriate, Safe, and Credible Speed Limits; his views on the new 30 km/h speed limit for Dublin city and whether this limit should be rolled out to other cities and towns; his further views on the regulations regarding speed signage in general here; if it could be more effective; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6421/10]

The European Transport Safety Council's document of January 2010 referred to by the Deputy is being examined in my Department. Statutory responsibility for the application of special speed limits through the making of special speed limit by-laws is vested in the elected members of county councils and city councils.

In 2005 statutory guidance was issued to local authorities on the setting of special speed limits in accordance with section 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2004. These guidelines were revised and issued to local authorities again in December 2008. They set out principles to guide local authorities in setting special speed limits and, under section 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2004, application by local authorities of the 30 km/h speed limit must be in accordance with the criteria set in the guidelines.

In setting a speed limit, a local authority must assess various factors with the primary focus being on road safety. It is, quite appropriately, a matter for the local authority to assess the various factors at play in setting a special speed limit, including compliance with the criteria set in the guidelines. Any assessment of the impact of the new 30 km/h zone in Dublin city centre is a matter for the city council. The Road Traffic (Signs) Regulations, 1997, as amended, provide for the specification for speed limit signage. The traffic signs manual provides guidance to local authorities in respect of the erection of such signage. I am satisfied with the provisions in respect of speed limit signage contained in these regulations and I have no plans to alter them. Under section 95 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, it is a matter for each road authority to determine if and where a traffic sign is provided on the public roads in their area.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan I have been reading the Survey of Free Speed, sent to me by the Road Safety Authority. Does the Minister accept that speed continues to be a major problem? The survey states that 65% of articulated drivers were free speeding or in excess of the speed limit on local roads. Some 60% of motorists were speeding in urban areas. Almost 60% of buses were speeding on local and regional roads. I refer to the collisions report for 2008 which I have in front of me and which the Minister has probably read. It states some 54% of single vehicle fatal collisions are blamed on speeding. Clearly, this is a major issue.

When Dublin City Council passed the new 3 sq. km. 30 km/h speed limit, only three councillors voted against it from the 52 who voted. Is it not a major problem that a 40 km/h speed limit was not introduced under the 2004 Act? Is the lack of a 40 km/h limit not a major gap? When I was the leader of the Labour Party in Dublin City Council, I sought a 25 mph default speed limit in estates and road near pedestrian areas. I could not do it for the same reason. A speed of 25 mph is equivalent to 40 km/h. Does the Minister have any intention to introduce a 40 km/h speed limit in the road traffic Bill?

I welcome warmly the new consultation process taking place on the operation of the 30 km/h speed limit. Does the Minister accept the report mentioned in the question, that is, the European Transport Safety Council's report? It states that "if a limit is not credible, drivers will be more inclined to choose their own speed". Therefore, it is critical to have credible limits that will be obeyed.

I agree with the Deputy that speed remains a major problem in respect of road safety. It continues to contribute to an unacceptable level of deaths and accidents on the roads. The faster people go, the more damage is done, whether in the level of fatalities or serious injuries. I strongly support and endorse what the Deputy has stated in respect of tackling speed and the need to ensure speed limits are enforced. This is why we always refer to drink-driving, seat belts and speed, a message with which started many years ago. While there have been great improvements, as everyone has acknowledged, speed remains a major problem.

I refer to the Deputy's remarks on speed limits. I have no difficulty examining a loosening up of the regulations on speed limits, by-laws and so on. That is not a problem. I presume he is referring to the limits of 120 km/h, 100 km/h, 80 km/h, 60 km/h, 50 km/h and 30 km/h. I am unsure whether it needs to be so rigid or whether there is a need to amend the Road Traffic Act. It may be possible to make changes through the regulations and I will examine that possibility.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan I realise the UK Department for Transport has digital speed maps. There is such a speed map for most cities and most localities in that country. Has the Minister any intention of consider that system? Obviously, there must be a roll-out of speed cameras as well. I have been informed that the revised traffic signs manual has not been republished since the third quarter of 2006. There has been no update for road signs. Does the Minister agree that wherever one may be and on whatever road or street, a person driving should always know the speed limit? This is not the case in Dublin city and most local authority areas throughout the country. We should consider signage to be critically important. A good driver will watch the road in front always. Why not have more road-painted signs? If this were the case and one were to enter Cork city, Dublin city or Wexford town, one would always know the default speed limit. Many people pretend they do not know or are wilfully ignorant.

I would support anything that would help to reduce the level of speeding on the road. I am unsure why there are not more speed limits painted onto the roads. It may be that it is not regarded as effective or whatever but it is a matter I can raise with the RSA. I am supportive of anything that would make people more conscious of their speed or that would encourage them to reduce it, whether in an urban or rural area.

Departmental Bodies.

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

75 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport, further to parliamentary Question No. 50 of 9 December 2009, the salary scales of the chief executives within all bodies, companies and agencies under the remit of his Department in 2008 and 2009, in view of the fact that they are not provided in annual reports and increases in salary payments are apparent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6850/10]

In the case of commercial State bodies, the salary scales of chief executives are reviewed from time to time by the Minister for Finance and based on comparisons with posts in the private sector. Salary ranges recommended through this system, known as the Hay rates, were last approved by Government in 2007, with a further general sanction by the Department of Finance for revised pay ranges with effect from 1 September 2008. In some cases, chief executives are on non-Hay rates. These are primarily cases where chief executives had been already on salaries higher than the Hay rates and opted not to move to a Hay contract. Chief executives of non-commercial State companies and agencies come within the remit of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration and have been subject to the salary reductions provided for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009.

The Minister for Finance has indicated his concerns about top-level pay across the economy and has moved already in addressing this in the non-commercial sector. He has also confirmed that he will carry out a review of the pay of chief executives of the commercial State companies, including the transport companies. I understand he will be announcing proposals in this regard in the near future.

I have asked my Department to provide the Deputy with the salary scales and ranges for the chief executives in tabular form.

That reply represents a significant change since 9 December 2009. When I asked the Minister the same question on that date, he told me to look at the annual reports. The figures are not in the annual reports. We need more accountability. I welcome the fact that we are now at last to receive the figures.

Will the Minister request that figures be provided regarding those who report to the chief executives at the highest level, that is, at board level or just below it? We need more accountability from them. The remuneration of the chief executive of Dublin Airport Authority in 2007, the last year for which figures are available, was almost €700,000 per annum. I presume he was making some hay on that salary. Has this salary remained the same?

Is it the case that the pay cuts may not apply to chief executives subject to the pay rates described by the Minister? Is this a fair question? We need total transparency and accountability.

Is the Minister pleased or unhappy to hear that while most harbour authorities have informed the Joint Committee on Transport of the salaries of their chief executives, Shannon Foynes Port Company refuses to provide it with the salaries of the chief executive and harbour master and other companies such as that in Cork will not tell us how much they are paying their executives. State companies, particularly those in which the Minister is the main shareholder, and semi-State companies under his control that he subsidises and which report to him, must be absolutely accountable.

A balance must be struck. While the salaries of public representatives and their actions are open to scrutiny, I wonder whether prurient interest in what a fellow is earning because he happens to be in a port company is desirable.

It is not prurient.

I am not accusing the Deputy of that but saying a certain amount of privacy should be afforded to most people who are not public representatives. A public representative should have a certain amount of privacy also. Although we continually——

——decide to erode this, that is another question.

As I said in my response, the pay cuts applied to the chief executives of non-commercial State companies and agencies within the remit——

They do not apply to the commercial companies.

They do not at present and that is why the Minister for Finance has decided to have a review of the commercial companies.

From 1 September, the pay scale of a chief executive of Dublin Airport Authority has been from €287,413 at the bottom end to €359,320 at the higher level. This is the actual pay rate.

There are also bonuses. The bonus for the chief executive of Dublin Airport Authority in 2007 was €167,000. He also got fees of €17,000, pension contributions and other taxable benefits worth €181,000. My interest is not prurient in that we need to know what chief executives of State or semi-State companies are paid. I welcome the fact that we will. We need to know a lot more about the salaries. My interest is based on the lack of accountability of bodies under the remit of the Minister. Some are not accountable. Some companies do not report to the Comptroller and Auditor General, yet they spend an awful lot of money.

Very serious questions are being asked about what is going on in CIE. There are allegations of extremely serious fraud in the company, yet we received a letter today stating the auditors will not appear before the Joint Committee on Transport to be accountable for what is happening. The problem is that we are spending a fortune subsidising State and semi-State companies. They are not accountable at present in terms of their salaries and they remain unaccountable in terms of audits, reports of audits and secret audits that they will not tell us about but which show up abuse of public funds.

That there is a certain set of procedures applicable to the companies that must compete in a commercial way and produce reports in the same way as any private commercial company does not mean there is a conspiracy.

I am talking about fraud.

The Deputy's implication and tone, which may have been unintentional, indicates he believes there is a big conspiracy, that much taxpayers' money is being wasted——

Yes, absolutely.

——and that nobody is doing anything about it. That is a totally false picture. The only reason the commercial State companies are not within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General is they act under company law. They are fully audited and must be audited. They are commercial and there are competition issues.

We cannot see the audit results.

There is no big deal about it from any point of view. The audit report about which the Deputy is talking has been made available publicly, as has the Baker Tilly report on CIE.

With regard to the question of prurient interest, Deputy O'Dowd is absolutely correct. I apologise to him if he believes I was saying the salaries of chairpersons or chief executives of State bodies should not be made public. They should be made public, as should the bonuses. I have no difficulty with that. My point related to people working in the offices, harbour masters and those on salary scales lower than those of chief executive officers. One must balance a person's right to privacy with the public right to information.

That concludes priority questions.

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