Timmy Dooley
Question:1. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason he withdrew funding of €36 million for CIÉ two months after approving it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45399/12]
Priority Questions
Public Transport Provision
The CIE group is struggling with a very difficult financial situation. On 24 July last, the Government decided to provide additional funding of €36 million to CIE to ensure that the companies could continue to operate for the rest of 2012. This would bring the total subvention for this year to €278 million, higher than the subvention level for 2010 and the fifth highest level of subvention ever. At this very difficult time for the public finances, it was not easy to find a large amount of additional funds. It involved very difficult decisions in terms of having to divert funding from other very worthwhile and important projects and initiatives and imposing sacrifices on others.
To date, none of the additional €36 million subvention has been paid over to CIE, but up to €36 million is still available. I want to see significant progress being made on the development of a realistic, sustainable and robust business plan by CIE to deal with the current economic realities; cost reductions with the CIE group and employee support for same; the sale of non-core assets; and the securing of new credit facilities.
At the time of the announcement it appeared that these were advanced but unfortunately, despite a lot of hard work and best efforts, insufficient progress has been made to date. The Minister of Sate, Deputy Kelly, and I are meeting regularly with the chairman and senior executives of the CIE companies and have met with union representatives as well. These various avenues are currently being explored and may reduce the need for the level of funding required.
Ultimately, however, it needs to be understood that if required, the additional funding for this year only provides a very short breathing space to CIE. It is essential that the management and staff in the CIE companies use this time productively to discuss and implement proposals to cut costs that can help to address the serious financial position in which the CIE group finds itself.
Does this mean that, in the event of CIE being unable to make the saving the Minister is seeking, €36 million is still available that has been reassigned from the projects mentioned and not spent on the original plans? I asked the Minister before what projects this money was taken from but I have yet to get an answer.
How does the Minister see CIE being able to make the necessary changes within the next two months if it is to come under €36 million? The Minister said he has not cut off the funding but he has put it up to CIE to find the savings in an exceptionally short timeframe. Depending on the strength of the Minister's position, this could spell disaster for public transport. CIE has cut services in rural and urban areas to balance its books and that is impacting on the company's ability to maintain its comprehensive network. Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus face a deficit of €40 million this year. While it is always possible to make savings, the scale the Minister is demanding makes it very difficult. It is my view the only way this can be dealt with is to increase fares and reduce services. When the Minister was in opposition, he hit out at fare increases, and he was right to do so, but he seems to have changed his mind.
There is a time limit on this question. The Deputies have only two minutes left between the two of them.
The €36 million is still available and to the extent that I can, I will not allow public transport to collapse. The money is available but it will only get the companies to the end of the year. I will not have enough money next year and €36 million will not solve the problems of the company next year. In the past, Governments could come up with more money if it was needed but that is not how the country works anymore. We are part of an IMF-troika programme and there are spending ceilings that cannot be broken. This year, I might be able to take money from one pocket and put it into the other, rob Peter to pay Paul and kick the can down the road, but I am running out of pockets and I am running out of road. If we do not see progress on the four issues I have mentioned, I will not be able to find the money to keep the companies operating by the middle to end of next year. Then, there will be no choice and public transport will fail. I do not expect CIE to find €36 million by 31 December, but it must make progress on those four areas so it does not require an additional subvention next year because I will not have it.
Public Transport Provision
Dessie Ellis
Question:2. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to improve the provision of public transport and smarter travel options across the State while at the same time reducing the public transport subvention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45456/12]
My Department and the National Transport Authority are working with public transport operators to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of existing public transport services. We are not in a financial position to make significant investment in our public transport network but we can get a better return from our existing public transport system, through targeted investment, better use of resources and by using smart technology to make public transport more responsive and user friendly.
My Department works with the NTA to improve smarter travel, with the NTA providing funds to local authorities in the greater Dublin area and regional cities, while my Department provides direct funding in the other counties and towns. In addition to NTA funding, we are investing €65 million in sustainable transport over the next five years, the majority of which will be invested in cities and towns around the country under key programmes such as smarter travel areas and active travel towns.
Targeted investment is essential in these financially straightened times. An example is the Luas BXD project to link the LUAS lines. The Government has also continued to invest in the bus companies, including the recent decision to purchase 80 new buses for Dublin Bus at a cost of €25 million and 60 new buses for Bus Éireann in 2011 at a cost to the Exchequer of €18.5 million. Considerable funding has also taken place in recent years on measures to make public transport more attractive such as the leap card, real time passenger information, automatic vehicle location and providing Wi-Fi. Given the pressure on the public finances, there is no possibility of additional funding by the Exchequer and I expect that subvention levels will reduce over the next two years.
I have said many times that we have one of the lowest subventions for public transport in Europe and the Minister has agreed. Even last year, CIE received €316 million and this year the amount is €242 million. Even with the €36 million, it is still only €278 million. If we continue to cut like this, we will hit vital services even more. We have increased fares and the cost of yearly tickets by 10% in the last month. That will further discourage the use of public transport and it penalises those who continue to use it. It does not make sense.
There have been cuts across services in rural and urban areas. The 19 and 19A services in the Glasnevin area were combined into one service. Dublin Bus and CIE are passing the buck on responsibility for these decisions. It is down to the fact that not enough money is being made available. We talk about smarter travel but we must invest in it. I welcome the fund of €65 million that the Minister has made available but what way will that spread out? Will it address the route shortages? Are we going to hit the main lines? The Minister mentioned the Luas and we all know the BXD is being started but we cannot continue to cut.
If the €36 million is required, the PSO will be €278 million, the fifth highest subsidy ever in the history of the State and we must remember that. The subvention increased rapidly in the boom but the subvention of €278 million will still be the fifth highest subvention in the history of the State. There are many people in many sectors who would like 2012 to be the fifth best year in their history. Many schools, hospitals and so on would happily be in the same position as CIE now.
When people say subvention in Ireland is relatively low, they do not take into account that it is not just the PSO subvention. There is also the railway safety programme, which involves over €100 million in grants to Irish Rail, and there are capital grants such as the €30 million spent on new buses.
In most countries the public transport company gets a single funding line and the comparisons that suggest that subvention in Ireland is low do not tell the full picture. When one takes into account the very substantial capital grants that go to the public transport companies, subvention is still lower than the European average but not lower by as much as people think. Most European countries need higher subvention because they have underground railway lines. They have high speed railways between their cities. As we do not have any of that, naturally we should not need the same level of subvention as those countries.
It is important to point out that Luas gets no subvention whatsoever. It is a publicly owned privately operated transport system and the only one in the State that does not require subvention and, perhaps, is a good model in that regard.
It is very disappointing, particularly following the launch of the 80 new buses and a further 60 for the industry, that we are going back to CIE and Dublin Bus to say that assets will have to be sold, whether older buses or otherwise, to make up the shortfall in moneys. There is a need to be more imaginative. Is there any way of addressing the fuel issue and looking at where cheaper fuel can be got or other means because there must be savings somewhere?
There are things that can be done over time. Certainly a move to compress natural gas as a fuel over time would save money. We are in an emergency and whatever is done has to be done quickly. That will involve the sale of assets and other cost savings. Luas is an interesting model. Luas should be expensive to run because it involves electrics, tracks and expensive rolling stock, yet it seems to be able to operate without the need for a State subvention.
Harbour Authorities Appointments
Joan Collins
Question:3. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No 1939 of 18 September 2012, if he will report on his following up of these issues with the chairman of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45203/12]
This question relates to the remuneration of the chief executive officer of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. The annual report and accounts for the company for 2011 disclose that the chief executive officer received remuneration of €188,477 in 2011, an increase of €19,877 over 2010 remuneration. The matter was the subject of a national newspaper article in August 2012.
My Department sought clarification from the chairperson of the board. However, the term of office of the chairperson of the board, together with a number of other members of the board, expired at the end of September 2012 before the Department could conclude the matter.
I am in the process of appointing a new chairperson and board members in the coming weeks. Before the appointment of the chairperson is made, the chairperson designate will be required to attend before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Once appointed, my Department will follow up on the relevant issues with the new chairperson and I will revert directly to the Deputy at that stage.
Deputy Joan Collins has sought permission that Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett take the question in her place.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the fact the representatives of the harbour company will appear before an Oireachtas committee. The anger felt by the workforce in the harbour company is extreme. Five members of staff were made redundant at the beginning of 2011, the chief executive officer is seeking pay cuts of between 30% and 40% from the workforce and the entire harbour police are subjected to disciplinary proceedings, essentially in disputes which seem to arise from the fact that the management is putting huge pressure on the workforce and appear bent on driving them out. All of this is happening at a time when, as the Minister has acknowledged, the chief executive officer has bumped his salary up to €188,000 per year. He also receives director's fees of €12,000 per year and unspecified payments of €40,000 per year. Last year there were unspecified payments to the chief executive officer of €20,000.
This is extraordinary, given a relatively small workforce. Also the harbour company has made significant losses in revenue this year as against last year. It appears that those at the top are creaming it while the workforce is under extreme pressure. Has any justification been given by the management of the harbour company in regard to where the unspecified payments of €40,000 came from, what they are and why they think they are justified on top of already high salaries? Questions remain concerning expenses which were wrongly claimed by a former board director which we were told would be returned and it is still not clear if they have been returned, against a background where the workers are being hammered.
The salary is very high for a relatively small company. There are many people running much larger enterprises than this who do not get paid a salary of this scale. For the information of the Deputy, the basic salary is €136,000, plus €12,600 in board fees and a car allowance of €20,000, all of which are contracted and, as a consequence, the chief executive officer is legally entitled to them. The additional payment of €19,877 relates to a payment in lieu of untaken holidays or untaken leave. My Department wrote to the chairperson, whose term has ended, stating that we did not accept this payment of €19,877 and that it should not have been made. When a new chairman is appointed the matter will be taken up and resolved. The chairman designate will appear before the joint committee to discuss these matters. Unfortunately, these matters are a distraction from a much more important issue which is the future of the harbour company. I would like to see the new chairman and board deal with these issues quickly in order that we can concentrate on the much more important matter of the future direction and future success of the harbour company.
I agree that the future of the harbour company is the major concern for the people of Dún Laoghaire and certainly for the workforce. I accept this is a legacy issue which the Minister has inherited. Any reasonable person would say this is an unacceptably high level of remuneration for top executives who appear to give themselves unspecified payments of very large amounts and increase their salaries when revenues are falling and workers are under the hammer. We need to protect the front-line workers, the harbour police and maintenance workers who make the harbour function and get rid of these obscene salaries and expenses and waste of money at the top, which seems to serve no particular function and cannot be justified. Is that the general direction in which the Minister is heading?
We are over time.
Will the harbour company be retained or brought back under council control, Dublin Port control or directly under the Department?
I have an open mind on the future place of the harbour company, whether it should remain as a company under my Department, a company under the local authority or be transferred to Dublin Port. I would be interested to hear the views of all the Deputies from Dún Laoghaire on that matter. I accept the rate of remuneration is high. It is not far off the rate of remuneration of the chief executive officer of Dublin Port which is a much larger enterprise. That is an issue that will have to be addressed by the new board. On the issue of the workforce, the key issue is whether it is the right size in terms of costs and the level of business of the company.
The Gathering Expenditure
Timmy Dooley
Question:4. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the work being done regarding the Gathering 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45401/12]
I am pleased to report continued good progress in the preparations for The Gathering Ireland 2013 which will be Ireland's biggest ever tourism initiative. Fáilte Ireland is the lead agency for the implementation of the initiative and has put in place a project executive team to implement it. Tourism Ireland has specific responsibility for promoting The Gathering Ireland 2013 in overseas markets and has also provided staff for the project team.
The St. Patrick's Day festivities were used for the overseas launch while a major domestic launch took place on Friday, 11 May 2012 in Dublin Castle. Since then the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, and I have attended a number of events overseas to mobilise support for the initiative. The Gathering Ireland 2013 was the title sponsor of the Notre Dame versus Navy American football game in September which received widespread coverage in the United States. President Higgins also promoted The Gathering Ireland 2013 during his recent visit to South America and further publicity events in our main overseas tourism markets are planned for the remainder of the year.
In terms of domestic activity, local Gathering co-ordinators have been appointed in each county and steering committees have been formed. Over 7,000 people have attended 52 community meetings throughout Ireland since June. Individuals and community groups can see what is already planned in their area by logging on to The Gathering Ireland 2013 website where planned events are shown by county. The website also provides online supports and ideas for those interested in setting up their own event. I am informed that there are now more than 600 individual events pledged on The Gathering Ireland 2013 website and this is increasing daily. Among the most common are clan gatherings, twin-town trips, school and work reunions, genealogical projects and family reunions.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Miley, who has responsibility for running the event and he is very clear in what he wants to do. I am concerned that it does not appear to have a comprehensive budget. I have spoken to representatives of a number of community groups in my area who are anxious to be part of The Gathering Ireland 2013 and see it as their civic duty. However, it is not clear what kind of funding will be available to these groups in the organising and promotion of such events. I accept, as the Minister said, that there is a level of activity among small communities involving things like family gatherings. I believe there should be some assistance with the cost of the communications that need to be put in place.
Other groups are seeking to organise larger events and it is unclear whether the State will be in a position to provide the necessary funding. That matter needs to be clarified relatively quickly because as the Minister and the Minister of State both know, people who are coming from our important tourism markets cannot decide to do so at the last minute. While it may apply to those coming from our nearest neighbour, which is a very important tourism market for us, people coming from the United States would make those decisions now if they are planning on coming here next summer or autumn. I ask the Minister to provide information on the overall budget.
Some funding is available through Fáilte Ireland's festival and events programme. The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, made some announcements on that matter recently. There is a top-up fund for festivals with a Gathering dimension. I believe we need to examine the smaller projects at county level to which the Deputy referred. Obviously, the Department is a bit short of cash at the moment, but that is something we need to examine. If we were able to find a private or corporate sponsor, that would be very helpful. It is something we are trying to work on, but I cannot make any commitments at this stage.
As the Minister is aware, a number of the smaller existing festivals receive funding either from the Arts Council or the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. We should utilise to the greatest extent possible funding that already exists. For this particular year there should be a requirement for Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht funding to have a Gathering dimension. In Counties Mayo and Clare there are many arts festivals, which receive support from the State through the Arts Council and have significant tourism potential. They have the capacity to act as a catalyst to attract tourism as part of the overall Gathering project.
I recently met representatives of the Arts Council, who when deciding on their funding programmes are taking into account how the arts and arts centres can contribute to The Gathering Ireland 2013. However, they do not envisage being in a position to allocate their funding until the new year. Obviously we would prefer to see that happening before the new year, but that is their call and not mine. The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, has been in contact with the county managers and mayors of the local authorities to ask them to set aside even a small amount of money from their budgets next year to support events such as this.
Sports Funding
Dessie Ellis
Question:5. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in view of the increase in homelessness and the recent success of the Irish team at the Homeless World Cup, if he will provide funding for this initiative; if he will meet with representatives from the homeless street leagues to discuss the way the various State agencies at national and local level can best support this work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45455/12]
This question relates to funding for homeless soccer street leagues.
I take this opportunity to congratulate the Irish team on their performance in the Homeless World Cup in Mexico. I also applaud the work that is being done through the homeless street leagues. Programmes such as these can have a very positive impact for those involved and present a wonderful opportunity for participants to represent their country at a large sporting event. I firmly believe that sport can play a very important role in Irish society and the homeless leagues are a very good example of this.
I have not received a request for a meeting with the representatives of the leagues but I will be happy to meet them if they wish.
The Irish Sports Council, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the allocation of current expenditure funding for sports organisations. The council channels funding through the national governing bodies of sport. In the case of soccer, funding is provided to the FAI. I understand that the homeless street leagues are affiliated to the FAI and that the FAI provides financial and other support for the leagues through its Football for All programme. I also understand that the leagues receive funding from Dublin City Council.
I also congratulate the Irish Homeless World Cup team, which finished eighth - a very creditable performance. There are a number of homeless street leagues in Cork, Galway, Waterford, Portlaoise, Longford, Wexford and Dublin. There is also one in Wheatfield Prison. Approximately 500 people participated in the street leagues and the primary target groups are the homeless, those dependent on drugs and alcohol, former offenders, refugees and asylum seekers, people resident in hostels, the long-term unemployed with learning disabilities, and increasingly those who have lost their jobs and homes and have found themselves homeless.
According to Focus Ireland, approximately 5,000 people are in some form of homeless situation. I know the figure the Minister of State quoted was less, but this is what Focus Ireland has advised us. It costs €80,000 to keep a person in prison for a year. This year the Irish team only received €9,000 from the FAI towards its participation in the Homeless World Cup. I do not believe it received any other money. When the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is handing money over to the FAI, it should point out that the FAI is allocating a paltry sum to the Homeless World Cup team, which is unacceptable. They have been involved in these sorts of tournaments since 2003 and this is just not good enough.
It is great that 500 people are involved. It has given these people a new lease of life. A recent impact study report indicates that 92% of players have a new motivation for life, 73% have changed their life for the better and 93 players successfully addressed drug or alcohol dependency. My Department gives the funding to the Irish Sports Council and last year it received approximately €46.5 million. It is a matter for the Irish Sports Council to deal with the national governing bodies. I will contact the Irish Sports Council and ask the question. However, to be fair to the FAI, it is the only sporting organisation running any such leagues, on which I compliment it. These street leagues have worked very well, particularly in disadvantaged areas. I compliment everybody involved including the organisers of the event, the FAI and others working with homeless people. These people deserve the same recognition and support as everybody else. I am glad that the FAI is playing its part.
I agree that significant logistics are involved in organising to bring a team to the Homeless World Cup for which the FAI deserves great praise, as do the organisers and players.
Can we look forward to Ireland hosting the Homeless World Cup? Has the Minister of State ever considered such a possibility? It would be well worth considering. It is sad we do not have more televised events like this which show our homeless people doing us proud in other countries. I would welcome if representatives of the street leagues could be invited to Leinster House by the Minister of State or other Deputies. It would be a great boost to their morale. There is an enormous amount of work being done in this area, with great progress in general being made in respect of homelessness in terms of the people participating in this sport.
We would be delighted to hold that event in Ireland. If the organisations involved would like to come here during The Gathering next year we would be delighted to facilitate them in doing so. If the Deputy wishes to invite them into the Houses I would be delighted to meet with and talk to them about the problems they are experiencing. I compliment everybody involved in this event, which provides disadvantaged people with a new outlook on life through their involvement in sport. Homeless people are as entitled to be involved in sport as is anybody else. The funding is provided to ensure everyone can participate in sport. That is what we are trying to do in this country. If the Deputy brings them to the Houses, I will be delighted to meet them.
What about hosting a Homeless World Cup?
Yes. I would welcome any help the Deputy can provide in that regard. We will give whatever support we can to organise it.