Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Mar 2002

Vol. 550 No. 2

Written Answers. - Infrastructural Investment.

Michael Moynihan

Question:

136 Mr. M. Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the funding allocated each year from 1995 to 2001 by her Department for Cork north west; the specific project investments; and the major developments which began or major service improvements which were funded as a result of an increase in funding in each of these years. [8064/02]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke):

With regard to telecommunications and Telecom's investment in north Cork an amount of €0.3 million was invested in 1999 in respect of the Chorus broadband link. This link connects Cork city to Limerick passing through the North Cork area. The project, funded under the 1994-99 NDP is now complete and Chorus is beginning to offer services through it.

Community Application of Information Technology.Four projects have been funded under the community application of information technology, CAIT, initiative in the Cork area, the details of which are outlined as follows.

The CAIT initiative is one of many undertaken as part of the wider Government programme to ensure a fully inclusive information society in Ireland. An amount of €5.08 million was allocated for the purpose of throwing open the world of new technology and information systems to those in our society who are unfamiliar with, and who do not or cannot use the technologies in their everyday lives. Funding commenced in June 2001 and will continue until December 2002.

Projects Funded in the Cork area.Blackwater Resource Development Limited, Fermoy, County Cork. Funding €40,000.

To improve the quality of life in rural areas, through providing IT access and lifelong learning opportunities and targeting 4,446 people.

Cork Anti-Poverty Resource Network, Cork City. Funding €112,000.

Establishment of an IT unit to address the needs of people in the community in two main areas: (i) raising awareness at a public level of the uses and relevance of new technology to people's lives; and (ii) assisting people to use technology in a way that supports and encourages community and group contact and inclusion of the excluded at every level of access in ICTs.

Community Women's Education Initiatives, Cork City. Funding €85,000.

Targeting 500 marginalised women in Cork City, the project is providing a computing facility to facilitate training in ECDL and basic computer literacy skills and an information resource unit to provide up-to-date information online of relevance to the target group.

CoAction West Cork. Funding €111,000.

Targeting 100 people with disabilities, this project will deliver an information and communication technology training programme to adults with disabilities

Public Transport.In relation to public transport, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the expenditure on a constituency by constituency basis.

I am informed by Bus Éireann that over the past two years there have been significant developments and improvements to Bus Éireann Cork city, county and Expressway services. These include the introduction of two hourly services on the Cork-Dublin corridor. There are now six daily departures each way on this route. An hourly service on the Cork-Limerick-Galway corridor has been introduced with 14 daily departures each way. There is also an hourly service on the Waterford-Cork-Tralee route.

Iarnród Éireann has informed me that demand for services has increased year-on-year on all routes operated by them. It is presently examining tenders for the supply of up to 67 new mainline locomotive-hauled carriages. When the tendering and procurement procedures are complete, it will take about two years for their delivery and entry into service. These trains, which are to be used on routes such as the Dublin-Cork line, will provide a significant improvement in the quality of mainline services.

Over the period since 1997, work has been undertaken at Mallow station to make it more accessible to mobility-impaired passengers, while refurbishment work has been undertaken at Banteer. While the main Cork-Dublin line has already seen the benefits of major investment in trackwork, since 1997 over 50 miles of track has been laid on the Mallow to Tralee and Killarney route.

Energy.My Department, through the Irish Energy Centre, has paid the following amounts through its national energy efficiency and energy audit grant schemes to projects in Cork county:

Year	€
1995	28,475.15
1996	290,139.96
1997	586,272.40
1998	600,013.24
1999	223,515.63
2000	404,044.65
2001	No figures yet available
Total 1995-2000	2,132,461.03