Vol. 798 No. 1
1. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has conducted any audit or study of the quality of the road network, at primary, secondary and tertiary levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15508/13]
This question relates to the conduct of audits and studies on the road network. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in respect of the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. As regards national roads, therefore, assessment of the condition of the network is the responsibility of the NRA.
In line with the requirements of EU Directive 2008/96 on road infrastructure safety management, which was transposed into Irish law in 2011, the NRA has put in place comprehensive guidelines on road safety management procedures for national roads in Ireland, including network safety management, temporary inspection of safety measures, road safety inspection, road safety impact assessment and road safety audit procedures. The NRA anticipates that the first round of road safety inspections will be completed by the end of 2013 in compliance with the directive.
The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority. Works on those roads are funded from local authority resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority as well. State grant payments are administered by the National Roads Authority on my behalf.
My Department and the NRA commissioned Pavement Management Services Ltd. to carry out a pavement condition study on the entire regional road network in 2011. The pavement condition study involved the use of machine surveys to collect road condition data, skidding resistance data and digital imagery on the regional road network. The main objective of the study was to establish, by county and nationally, the lengths and areas of various categories of regional road requiring various types of remedial works. This information is required to quantify the current status of road conditions within counties and nationally and to provide a benchmark measurement against which the future actual road conditions can be compared. Where comparable, the roads were measured against the results of a previous study in 2004, and the results indicated that there had been a considerable improvement in ride quality over the seven-year period. In addition, the study indicated that nationally the percentage length of the regional road network requiring road reconstruction had dropped significantly from 24% in 2004 to 15% in 2011.
I wish to put on record my disappointment at the continued exercise of what appears to be an effort by the Government to prevent this side of the House, the Opposition, from having a detailed Question Time. Yet again, there seems to be a considerable number of questions on the Order Paper from Fine Gael backbenchers. We have seen the same with health questions. I believe it is unhelpful. The Minister is usually a straight talker and I wish to put one straight question to him. Has the Minister, anyone in his Department or anyone associated with him discussed the questions on the paper with any backbenchers in Fine Gael in an effort to have them put down questions on his behalf in order to filibuster Question Time? Will the Minister answer that question?
I am happy to do so. My office does not put in questions on behalf of backbench Deputies, but we tell them when Question Time is coming up and when the deadline is and we invite them to submit their questions on relevant issues, which they do all the time. It is important to bear in mind that everyone in the House is elected and everyone in the House has an equal right to ask questions. As an Opposition spokesperson, Deputy Dooley gets priority over all other Members, as does Deputy Ellis and whoever represents the Technical Group. However, backbenchers, whether from the Labour Party, Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, are elected on the same basis and have an equal right to put down questions, and it is a good thing that they do so.
Thank you, Minister. On the question, Deputy.
I thank the Minister for his frank answer. He is one of the few who has clearly indicated there is a practice within his Department. He has not spoken for anyone else but at least he has indicated that there is a practice of filibustering Question Time, effectively stuffing the oral questions section of Question Time with general questions that will elicit positive answers-----
We have had an answer on that.
-----that are supportive of Government policy and allow the Minister to enlighten us on various policy positions and results he has achieved in certain areas. The Minister and his Department do that well through the issuance of press releases on a regular basis. Parliamentary parties exist-----
Deputy Dooley, we only have six minutes for each question.
I accept that, but this is an important issue.
Please ask your question.
I would have thought Fine Gael would hold a parliamentary party meeting which would provide backbenchers with a unique opportunity to question the Minister and get an understanding of what is going on in his Department. However, they are now taking up time in the House which heretofore was used by the Opposition to hold the Minister to account on a variety of issues. The Minister is a straight talker and I do not believe he needs to do that. I call on him to consider desisting from the practice in future.
In recent weeks the Minister announced that €42 million of Government funding for local authorities could be diverted to emergency road works. I am concerned that the Minister somehow believes that €42 million is adequate to deal with the level of damage done to the road network as a result of his not being in a position last year to provide additional resources to keep the ongoing care and maintenance programme in place. The Minister is somehow suggesting that the local authorities should be in a position to do the works from within their own resources while failing to recognise that the local authorities are well strapped because of the increased burden that now befalls them in respect of taking charge of many of the housing estates that need significant service upgrades. It is not appropriate to suggest that somehow moving money around will resolve the difficulties that are being experienced by motorists on a daily basis.
I have been through County Meath on many occasions in recent weeks and once one moves off the main roads there are major problems there. The Minister must address this in a more substantial way. I call on him to carry out an audit in the first instance and put himself in a position to know exactly what funding he will have to find for next year's road upgrade programme.
I will give Deputy Dooley a straight answer to the straight question he has asked. I am looking at the question paper before me. Of the first ten questions, only two are in the name of Fine Gael Members. It is not until the seventh question that any Fine Gael Member gets an opportunity to ask a question.
That is done by lottery.
Question No. 11 is in the name of a Fianna Fáil Member. Question No. 12 is tabled by a Sinn Féin Member. No. 13 is from a Fianna Fáil Member.
The Minister has 39 questions in-----
Generally, only the first 20 get covered.
There are 39 Fine Gael questions.
I call on Members to get back to the question.
The largest party in the House has perhaps three or four questions out of 20. I have what I believe to be a valid question: why is it that when we have Question Time here Deputy Dooley is the only person from Fianna Fáil who turns up? We have been having Question Time for two years and the only person who turns up from Fianna Fáil is Deputy Dooley. Is it that his party has no one else with any interest in transport, tourism or sport issues? Every Member is elected and every Member has a right to speak in the House and ask questions. As Opposition spokesperson, Deputy Dooley gets priority. A total of eight of the first ten questions being dealt with today have been tabled by Opposition spokespersons-----
Will the Minister desist from coaching backbenchers?
Could we get back to the question, please?
-----and to me that is more than fair.
We are on ceist No. 1.
It may have been the practice in the previous Government that backbenchers did not have a say and were only allowed to speak at private parliamentary party meetings, but this is a different Government and we are serious about Dáil reform.
There is no show like the Leo show.
It is the case that we encourage backbenchers to take part in Question Time and the Order of Business, as they should.
The Minister knows that is rubbish.
With regard to the figure of €42 million, that is not additional money but money already allocated. Local authorities have more flexibility in how they can use it. They have a right to use it in a discretionary way. They requested this discretion in order that they could prioritise emergency repairs over restoration works. I have also allocated an extra €2.7 million, particularly to deal with drainage issues which present a big problem on rural roads. I acknowledge that we are not able to allocate enough funding for roads to maintain them to the standard we would like. This is because budgets have been cut centrally in the Department but also because local authorities have cut their budgets considerably. It should be borne in mind that local authorities receive two thirds of motor tax revenue but do not have to spend it on roads. They should put more of it into road maintenance. In the next budget and at Estimates time I will make the point strongly to my colleagues that while roads are, by and large, in very good condition, there are parts of the country where they are starting to deteriorate and we will need additional finance to repair them.
2. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of manual road crossings still in place on the rail network; and if he plans to phase these out due to negative effects on traffic congestion and public safety concerns. [15424/13]
This question relates to manual road crossings on the rail network. As has previously been outlined to the Deputy, matters relating to upgrading works at individual level crossings on the rail network are operational day-to-day matters for Iarnród Éireann. My Department is fully aware of the importance of railway safety and continues to provide for substantial Exchequer investment in railway safety measures, despite the significant financial challenges. The overall investment in railway safety measures is in excess of €1.5 billion since 1999 when the railway safety programme commenced. Investment in railway safety measures this year alone will be approximately €90 million. It is a matter for Iarnród Éireann to prioritise the use of these funds, based on appropriate risk assessments.
I understand from Iarnród Éireann that in the past 12 years, with an investment of in excess of €150 million, it has reduced the number of level crossings on the rail system from over 2,000 to just over 1,000 today. The total number of manually operated level crossings on the Iarnród Éireann network, defined as those where the operation of the crossing gates is the responsibility of the crossing user, is 814. The vast majority of these, 649, are field to field crossings, generally used for agricultural activities. There are a further 117 level crossings on private roads, with the remaining 48 on public roads. There are an additional 72 crossings on the network on public roads where operation of the crossing is manual, but this operation is conducted by Iarnród Éireann staff.
Iarnród Éireann is committed to an ongoing risk reduction programme at all manually operated level crossings. This programme is achieved through level crossing upgrading and improvements or the closure of the crossing, where practicable. The allocation of limited available expenditure on these level crossings is prioritised on a risk evaluated basis. Iarnród Éireann is actively looking at technological solutions for the improvement of safety at these manually operated level crossings as a means of optimising funding across the broad range of user operated level crossings on the network.
I know the Minister of State is aware that there are approximately 1,000 railway crossings that are manually operated across the State. This is a problem. While there has been progress, I am concerned when I hear the Minister of State say this matter is the responsibility of Iarnród Éireann. It is the responsibility of the Department and the Minister of State should tell Iarnród Éireann that the situation with regard to manually operated crossings is unacceptable. Let me give some examples. I am aware a bridge is to be built over the railway crossing at Reilly's Bridge in Cabra in the near future, but in the meantime we have traffic jams one mile long, at a cost to the State in terms of people and workers being delayed. There is also an issue of health and safety. I cannot pinpoint a major incident in recebt years, but we need to ensure such an incident never happens. There is an automatic crossing in Athenry which runs to a schedule, but a problem arose there recently. If an automatic crossing is scheduled and the train service is delayed or something else happens, this could lead to a serious problem. I have mentioned Reilly's Bridge, but just up the road at Ashtown there is another manually operated crossing. Approximately 2,000 apartments were built in the area, but we allowed a manually operated crossing at the site. The failure to provide for a flyover or other means of crossing the line represented bad planning on the part of the local authorities.
There is merit in what the Deputy says about level crossings. When I took up my role in the Department, one thing that struck me straightaway was the volume of funding going towards railway safety measures. A substantial amount, €1.9 billion, has been invested since 1999. There is probably just cause to say priority should have been given to particular crossings during the years. I am aware of some of the crossings to which the Deputy referred. The completion date for the Reilly's Bridge crossing is the end of 2014. That said, in the past two years Iarnród Éireann has been prioritising areas where crossings need attention on a risk basis. It will continue to be active in that regard and ensure it prioritises those crossings where there are safety risks or greater efficiency can be achieved. The Deputy is aware that improvements have been made under our work programme in improving speeds on various lines throughout the country. Some of these improvements are due to a number of crossings being dealt with.
I mentioned Athenry, but there was also an issue because there was no manual override of the automatic system. This is another problem in terms of health and safety. This was promised at Athenry, but it has not yet been delivered. In a situation where a train service is delayed or some other unforeseen event occurs, there should be a backup system to help resolve the issue. I accept that there have been huge improvements and that there is an ongoing programme in palce. However, we must take cognisance of all of these crossings and assess whether they can be dealt with. It is more important to deal with some of them rather than others, as there are very heavy volumes of traffic on main routes. The Minister of State needs to push this issue with Iarnród Éireann, particularly in cases in which it is clear there are serious problems. Fortunately, there have been no incidents reported, but we must prevent any such incident happening.
The work is ongoing and we meet the NTA to discuss this crucial issue. The Deputy is aware that a serious volume of work has been done on heavily used lines. Speeds and journey times have improved considerably in recent months. The work will continue and we will ensure that where work is necessary from both an efficiency and a safety point of view, it will be prioritised.
3. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the financial situation at CIÉ; if he will now report on whether there is any improvement in the company's financial situation since the annual report; if he will provide details of the contacts he has had with the board and the chairman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15400/13]
Both the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, and I, with the Department, are in regular contact with CIE and its subsidiaries on the current and future financial situation of the group. The Department, supported by NewERA, has engaged extensively with CIE on its financial and business planning. CIE's draft annual report and financial statements for 2012 were received on 28 February, in accordance with the timeframe laid down in the code of practice.
In addition to the supplementary PSO funding of €36 million allocated by the Government in 2012, further financing was required in 2012 in order to fund the voluntary severance schemes, particularly in Irish Rail, and ensure adequate funding into 2013. Progress was made at the end of 2012 on the sale of non-core assets, in particular the sale of Spencer Dock properties. The resolution of CIE's financial position will involve increased borrowing facilities for non-capital purposes. Discussions are continuing to secure additional banking facilities to ensure adequate funding into 2013. Any such funding will rely on the delivery and implementation of a convincing business plan. CIE has undertaken a rigorous business planning process with the aim of returning to a break-even position and achieving a sustainable debt position. Given the pressure on the public finances, there is no possibility of additional funding from the Exchequer in 2013. The implementation of a credible business plan will, therefore, be essential to CIE’s financial recovery in the period ahead.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He will be aware that the accounts of CIE have been late virtually every year for the last three or four years. Can I have an assurance that they will not be late this year? The Minister of State has said the accounts are now in the hands of the Government. I hope they do not have to be referred back to the company as they were last year, when they finally emerged in November. If a company like this is losing so much money, why is its chief executive being paid so much? How can we justify paying between €150,000 and €200,000 to the chief executives of Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and CIE at a time when the company is losing a fortune? I know that the loss of money is a kind of movable feast at CIE in the context of the subvention it receives. I would have thought that the aim of the Government should be for CIE to break even without a subvention. Despite the reduction of €36 million in the subsidy, there have been fare increases and very few cost reductions in the past year. CIE has been given an easy way out. I would like the Minister of State to assure the House that there will be no further fare increases. I would like to hear an affirmation and a justification in this regard. The managing director of AIB, David Duffy, this morning justified his salary of over €540,000 in the context of the bank's losses. Leaving the banks aside, why should the State pay €3,000 or €4,000 a week to the managing director of a company that is being rescued by the banks on a weekly basis?
I thank the Deputy for his questions. He raised a couple of specific issues. The accounts were late this year because the board would not sign off on them until many of its questions had been answered from an auditing point of view. I think that is rigorous. As the Deputy is aware, there have been many changes at board level in CIE and its subsidiaries. He also asked about the issue of chief executive salaries. There is no chief executive of CIE. On foot of a decision made by this Government, the executive chair is no longer in place. Three chief executives are in place among CIE's subsidiaries. Their salaries have reduced substantially. Many changes have been made across CIE. There have been many personnel changes at all levels within the organisation and its subsidiaries. These are significant improvements, given that CIE was caught in a perfect storm when its subvention was reduced, its passenger numbers decreased and its fuel costs increased. Iarnród Éireann has implemented a significant voluntary severance programme, which will make a vital contribution to its cost recovery programme. The group has generated cash from various activities, such as the sale of Spencer Dock. It has developed a five-year plan to reduce costs and manage cashflows. It is now engaged in an ongoing process with its unions to implement those plans. The recommendations that have been made to improve the group's treasury and cash management functions have been implemented. A great deal of work is taking place. I assure the Deputy that the Department is working closely with CIE to ensure a robust business plan is in place for the future.
I accept the Minister of State's goodwill on this matter. We have been hearing about the company in the same terms for ten years. It has had robust business plan after robust business plan. CIE has been the black hole in the semi-State hemisphere for a very long time. We need something more dramatic than this, particularly given that the auditors expressed serious worries last year about whether CIE was a going concern. I wonder what measures and what vision the Minister of State and his Government colleagues have in mind to ensure CIE continues as a going concern. When passenger numbers continue to fall, as they undoubtedly will, the outlook is that we will continue to implement sticking plaster solutions - either withdrawing the subvention or not - as each crisis emerges. In that context, what are the plans for the subvention this year and in the next five years? Is there a plan to run down the subventions or to keep them at a higher level?
There is a robust plan in place. The subvention will decrease this year. The planned subvention for this year is €226 million. That has to be the case, obviously, in light of the economic situation. I would like to give the Deputy some welcome news. Recent figures have shown that the number of people travelling across the various services is stabilising and in some cases is on an upward trajectory. We are quite happy about that. We project that a number of the commercial plans that have been put in place by the various subsidiaries could be quite successful. While there is a long road ahead, I assure the Deputy that day-to-day active engagement with CIE is at a level it has not previously been at. I am well aware of the Deputy's concerns about the historic operation of CIE. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is taking a significant active role with CIE on a day-to-day basis to ensure it will continue as a going concern into the future.
4. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to supply the public transport passenger with a more diverse bus service provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15509/13]
This question relates to the structure of the public service obligation bus market. The programme for Government contains a commitment "to establish a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Infrastructure to explore the benefits to the public transport passenger of a more diverse bus service provision". In line with this commitment, the National Transport Authority conducted a non-statutory public consultation in the summer of 2012. A report on the process is available on the website of the authority. I draw the Deputy's attention to the Competition Authority's submission, which highlighted the positive international experience of tendering. The National Transport Authority briefed the Cabinet sub-committee on the process in October 2012. Public consultation submissions will be considered and taken into account by the authority when it comes forward with proposals. If the authority proposes to enter into a further direct award contract or contracts for bus services, it is obliged to carry out a statutory consultation under section 52 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. Furthermore, the legislation states that it may not enter into direct award contracts unless "it is satisfied that the continued adequacy of the public bus passenger services to which the contracts relate can only be guaranteed in the general economic interest by entering into such direct award contracts". Accordingly, the matter will require further examination by the National Transport Authority before any decisions are taken. I have been advised by the authority that it is commencing a series of analytical tasks in respect of the public service obligation bus market. This analytical work will be completed before August of this year, when the authority anticipates that statutory consultation on any new direct award contract will need to commence.
Does the Minister accept that Ireland has one of the lowest public transport subsidies in Europe? Does he agree that the international experience of market liberalisation is quite mixed? He mentioned that the Competition Authority has highlighted the international experience. On the basis of research I have done, that experience appears to be quite mixed. The initial results in countries where liberalisation has happened to a large, medium or small degree show that states can obtain some savings in certain circumstances. That needs to be borne in mind. In some countries, privatisation has led to monopolisation, or a variation thereof, over a number of years. This has led to an increase in the costs incurred by the state. It might be appropriate for the Minister to refer to a report produced by the transport committee in 2003 or 2004, after members of the committee met representatives of London Bus, in the context of the decisions due to be taken. Is it the case that the overheads of private operators are significantly lower than those of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus? Does the Minister agree that a wider discussion of the liberalisation and privatisation agenda is required? As I see it, liberalisation is certainly not a panacea that would solve all our problems. In fact, it might create greater problems.
It is absolutely the case that international experience is mixed. The very good report produced by the Competition Authority gives an overview of where this has worked well, where it has not and the reasons for that success or lack thereof. The report gives us a good idea of how this can be done in the right way. The subvention paid to public transport is relatively low. It is important to compare like with like. In some countries, public transport operators receive public service obligation payments only. We also pay capital grants to such operators, particularly in the case of the railways. If one adds the capital grants to the public service obligation payments, one will find the level of subvention is not as low as it might seem. It is also important to bear in mind that we do not have the same level of public transport as other countries. We do not have high-speed rail or underground rail, for example.
5. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the most recent available data indicates that the North American and German markets are of significant importance when it comes to growth in expenditure by holiday visitors to Ireland in view of Ireland's cultural heritage and pristine environment being central to marketing campaigns in both countries; if he will give specific details of the way he plans to address Ireland's exceptionally low ranking in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, specifically when it comes to our cultural and natural resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15507/13]
According to the latest Central Statistics Office figures, spending by visitors to Ireland increased by 4.5% last year to €3.68 billion. For holidaymakers, expenditure increased by 10% from North America and by 11% from other long-haul areas. For mainland Europe, where holidaymaker expenditure grew by 3% overall, spending by German holidaymakers grew by an impressive 19%.
I agree that Ireland’s environment and culture are key tourism assets. Our beautiful landscapes and rich heritage feature strongly in promotion of Ireland overseas by Tourism Ireland and its agency and industry partners, and we are also highlighting our cultural profile through the range of events taking place within The Gathering Ireland 2013. I must disagree, however, that Ireland ranked poorly in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013. Out of 140 countries, Ireland was placed in 19th position and scored well under pillars such as "Policy Rules and Regulations" - fourth place; "Human Resources" - 11th place; "Tourism Infrastructure" - 12th place; and "Safety and Security - 12th place.
Our ranking of 29th under the heading of "Cultural Resources" reflects the fact that we have only two world heritage cultural sites. Under "Natural Resources", the World Economic Forum ranks Ireland 11th for our natural environment but our overall ranking is reduced by factors such as "Total Known Species", simply because of being an island. Nonetheless, Ireland ranks ninth overall under "Environmental Sustainability", scoring well for the strength of our environmental regulation.
The World Economic Forum report, like any attempt to compare every country in the world on the same basis, is not infallible. However, it provides a useful tool to appraise the overall competitive position of Irish tourism and my Department and the tourism agencies will continue to use it to help identify strengths to promote and weaknesses to address in growing Irish tourism sustainably.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome any increase in tourist numbers. It is an established fact that cultural tourism is one of our main attractions when it comes to selling and marketing Ireland to international markets, particularly in the US and Germany. According to the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, our rich culture, heritage and natural environment can assist in the development of the tourism product and allow us to gain a comparative advantage over other countries. Tourism is central to this Government's economic recovery programme and key policy actions are outlined in the programme for Government and in the Action Plan for Jobs. In spite of this, it is very clear that we have failed to develop our cultural and heritage capital to its full potential and to capitalise on our natural resources.
In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, Ireland is ranked 117th out of 140 countries when it comes to protection and utilisation of our natural resources. We are ranked 29th when it comes to our utilisation and development of our cultural resources. If these figures are broken down even further, we see we are ranked 88th in terms of world heritage cultural sites and 79th in terms of world heritage natural sites.
Will the Minister impress upon his colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, the importance of protecting and developing the Moore Street battlefield site? This has huge potential in terms of its ability to attract international tourists to the country. The site and historic quarter is unique and its as yet untapped potential could, if properly harnessed, give a major boost to the capital in terms of jobs and income. As such, it should be utilised to its potential.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. I visited the Moore Street site about a year ago and I certainly believe the O'Connell Street and Moore Street sites, taken together, have real potential for tourism and also for our own history and heritage. I have discussed this matter with the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, and, ultimately, it will be his recommendation that the Cabinet will act on.
In regard to cultural resources, as the Deputy points out, we are ranked 29th overall in that particular pillar. This relates to many things, for example, the number of sports stadia per head, the number of world heritage cultural sites and the number of international fairs and exhibitions. While we scored very well in terms of sports stadia, for example, we only scored quite well when it came to international exhibitions, being placed in the top 26. With regard to the issue of natural resources and environmental stability, we came in 117th, which appears poor, although it is not an area we necessarily have much control over. When it comes to the number of world heritage natural sites or the number of species, for example, or terrestrial bio-protection and marine protected areas, much of the ranking is just down to the fact we are a small country and an island. There is nothing the Government can do to change the number of habitats and species we have in the State.
I am aware the Minister visited Moore Street last year. If the Government was serious about tackling the jobs crisis, it should immediately take the site into State ownership and develop it in a sophisticated and sensitive manner so it becomes one of the key linchpins of the Irish tourism market.
I take on board the Deputy's views. As she knows, there are a number of proposals for the site. There is a proposal led by the developer and supported by some of the families, and there is an alternative proposal. I know the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, is examining those and I am sure he will make a decision in due course.
