Joe Carey
Question:69. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update in the Shannon aviation services centre Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15039/13]
View answerState Airports
Questions (69, 73)
Pat Breen
Question:73. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the establishment of the international aviation services centre at Shannon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15036/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 73 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, Shannon Airport was separated from the Dublin Airport Authority on 31 December last and the assets and business of the airport were transferred from the DAA to the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA). My Department continues to work with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the Heads of the new Bill to provide for the merger of the airport with a restructured Shannon Development in a new, commercial, State-owned entity and this legislation will be advanced during the first half of this year. When the Heads of the Bill are ready, they will be referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport for their consideration prior to drafting. It is my hope, subject to enactment of the Bill, that the new Shannon entity could be established mid-year, although I appreciate that this will be challenging. It will then be a matter for the new entity to proceed with the development and expansion of the aviation services centre in Shannon. In January, I appointed Rose Hynes as Chairman of the SAA and in that context I expect her to take on the role of Chairman designate for the NewCo which is in the process of being established. More recently, I have made four further appointments to the board of the SAA, including two employee representatives nominated by ICTU. A process to recruit a Chief Executive for the Shannon Airport Authority and the new Shannon entity (NewCo) is also currently under way.
The Steering Group comprising representatives of the Department of Finance, Public Expenditure and Report, Environment, Community and Local Government, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and my Department is meeting on a regular basis to oversee the implementation of the Government decision in all its elements.
Tourism Industry Issues
Questions (70)
Michael Moynihan
Question:70. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the way he proposes to work with tourism businesses, particularly small and medium enterprise to improve their e-capacity to transact and sell; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15256/13]
View answerWritten answers
This is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland and I have referred the Deputy's Question to them for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
Question No. 71 answered with Question No. 14.
Question No. 72 answered with Question No. 10.
Question No. 73 answered with Question No. 69.
Question No. 74 answered with Question No. 14.
Question No. 75 answered with Question No. 9.
Tourism Projects Funding
Questions (76)
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:76. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason that the Programme for Government tourism is central to the Government’s recovery programme, yet Fáilte Ireland recently refused funding to Cork City Council for the first phase of the development of Spike Island, when according to a master plan prepared by the Council’s consultants Scott Tallon, if the island were turned into a national park it was capable of attracting up to 200,000 visitors a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15306/13]
View answerWritten answers
The matter raised is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland. I have referred the Deputy's question to Fáilte Ireland for direct reply. Please contact my private office if a reply is not received within ten working days.
Departmental Bodies
Questions (77)
Joan Collins
Question:77. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps being taken to ensure that the situation in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company where a director was being paid director's fees from October 2012 to June 2012, despite not attending any meetings, will not be repeated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15300/13]
View answerWritten answers
As I stated previously on 18 October 2012, the payment of director's fees is a matter for Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.
While the Code requires companies to provide details of attendance in their annual accounts and outlines a number of other requirements in relation to the payment of fees, it does not link the payment of fees to attendance at a particular number of board meetings in any given period.
The Company's annual accounts and Chairman's report for 2011 confirm that all fees were paid in accordance with Government guidelines. Furthermore, the Company's accounts also detail individual directors' attendance at board meetings for the period covered by the Accounts. This information is publicly available.
I am not yet in receipt of the Company's annual accounts in relation to 2012.
Question No. 78 answered with Question No. 9.
Motor Vehicles
Questions (79)
Pearse Doherty
Question:79. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of motor vehicles currently operating on the road that were registered before 2008. [15058/13]
View answerWritten answers
There are currently 1,751,518 mechanically propelled vehicles, registered prior to 2008, operating on the roads (licensed as at the end February 2013). Of these, 1,342,527, are private cars.