Written Answers Nos. 268-275
268. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is satisfied that the chairman of Bus Éireann, whom he appointed, is available to fully discharge the duties of this critical position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24561/13]
View answer275. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will explain how the chairman of Bus Éireann is able to live in Dubai and still carry out his role in a proper and efficient manner; if he will ensure that the chairman comes back to appear before an Oireachtas committee to explain these arrangements and how he manages to be a hands-on chairman and at the same time live such a distance away; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24759/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 275 together.
I have every confidence in Paul Mallee as Chairman of Bus Éireann. The Government appointed him as non-executive Chairman of Bus Éireann and a member of the Board of CIÉ on 29th June 2011. At that time he was resident in Ireland. I am aware he subsequently accepted an employment opportunity abroad but I am satisfied that he continues to meet the mandate set out for him on his appointment as Chairman. Mr Mallee’s extensive international transport and business experience has greatly benefited Bus Éireann.
As with any member of a Board holding a non-executive position, he is not involved in the day-to-day running of the company. Given the current situation, Mr Mallee is in regular contact with the senior management team, the Department, me and Minister of State Kelly providing valuable input.
Since he became Chairman of Bus Éireann in late June 2011, there have been 18 Bus Éireann Board meetings. Mr Mallee has attended 17 of these meetings in person and fully participated in the remaining meeting by video conference. Mr Mallee covers his own travelling expenses when attending Bus Éireann Board meetings. He has also participated in all but one CIÉ Board meeting in that time. As non-executive Chairman of Bus Éireann and member of the CIÉ Board, he is paid a total fee of €21,600. Following the recent Labour Relations Commission recommendation, his fee will be reduced voluntarily by 20%.
269. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the levels of reductions that have occurred in DART, Commuter and Intercity rail services in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013. [24562/13]
View answerThe amounts allocated to Iarnród Éireann in respect of PSO services since 2010 are as follows 2010 €155.137m;2011 €148.689m; 2012 €166.413m; 2013 €126.888m. The 2012 allocation includes a once-off allocation of €30.667m was paid to Iarnród Éireann in 2012 as part of the additional €36m PSO funding to CIÉ approved by Government.
Between 2007 and 2010 Iarnród Éireann placed two orders for a total of 84 new Intercity Railcars which are funded by the Exchequer. The scheduling and operation of rolling stock and the number of passengers carried on the DART, Commuter and Intercity rail services are operational matters for Iarnród Éireann and I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
270. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a list of projects under the Ten-T Comprehensive Road Network and the progress being made with these projects. [24573/13]
View answerDiscussions are still underway under Ireland's EU Presidency in relation to finalisation of the TEN-T Regulation and maps. As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once the details of the TEN-T road network are settled upon any subsequent progress on individual road projects will be a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
271. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the target of his Department and subsidiary offices throughout the country regarding employment of persons with disabilities in the special category; if the target is being achieved; the total number of employees in that category currently and the percentage of the total workforce in his Department that it represents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24621/13]
View answerThe Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is subject to specific legal obligations in Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, which sets out a requirement to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities.
This target is currently being exceeded by my Department, with the total number of employees with disabilities currently at 23, representing 4.7% of the Department's workforce.
272. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide figures comparing the State subvention to Bus Éireann with State subventions to coach services in other OECD countries. [24678/13]
View answerI am unaware of such a comparison having been carried out. It is difficult to carry out a comparison of subvention levels between transport authorities internationally for a number of reasons, some of which are: the subvention payments for the bus mode is not normally separated out from the other modes such as light and heavy rail and is usually presented as the subvention for all the public transport in the particular region; some transport operators and authorities report transport revenues as a single item and don’t identify the revenue associated with subvention; some transport authorities centralise the marketing and customer facing activity which doesn’t get reflected in the provision to operators.
The 2009 Deloitte Report, Cost and Efficiency Review of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann highlighted that grants and subsidies to other comparable bus operations outside Ireland varied greatly. The Report also noted that it was more difficult to identify comparable operators for Bus Éireann given their mix of services.
While the Deloitte Report is frequently cited as providing a Europe-wide comparison of PSO levels to bus operators, this is not the case and it is wrong to represent the study as such. The Deloitte Report compared the PSO provided to Dublin Bus to the subsidises provided to operators in Brussels, Zurich, Amsterdam, Lyon and London and in the case of Bus Éireann, compared the PSO received by it to national operators in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
Despite the limitations in developing such analyses, I am advised that on the basis of recent research undertaken on behalf of the National Transport Authority (NTA), the subvention levels for operations similar to Bus Éireann vary between 32% and 70%. This is based on a comparison of subvention levels in 4 countries, namely, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
If the Public Service Obligation payment is the only subsidy considered, the subvention to Bus Éireann in 2012 was 34% of their total PSO revenues. However if the payment for the Free Travel Scheme is included, 45% of Bus Éireann revenues are subsidised by the State. This places Bus Éireann in the low to middle of the range of subsidy payments of those countries compared.
273. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Waterways Ireland has decided to suspend the much-needed dredging works on the Grand Canal with only one section left to be completed; whether he is aware that that section of the canal is the shallowest due to years of silting and dumping, which affects barges trying to traverse the canal; whether he is aware that the delay in recommencing the dredging could have a serious impact on plans by Dublin City Council to install a cycle track from Bluebell to Harold's Cross, due to the need for heavy equipment for any future dredging works to be located on the north side of the canal, where the cycle track would be, as the LUAS is on the other side; and if he will ensure that funding to recommence the dredging works is urgently made available for Waterways Ireland. [24714/13]
View answerI am not aware of a decision by Waterways Ireland to suspend dredging works on the Grand Canal. As you know, Waterways Ireland are a state agency under the agency of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. However, responsibility for the management of funding programmes related to the development of cycling infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area rests with the National Transport Authority (NTA). Accordingly, to be of assistance, I have referred this question to the NTA for direct reply to the Deputy. Please contact my private office if a reply has not been received within ten working days.
274. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details regarding the decision to rebrand the Iarnród Éireann/Irish Rail logo; if the new logo entails rebranding the entire fleet of trains in the network; the procurement method Iarnród Éireann used for the commissioning of the new logo; the cost involved in its design; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24729/13]
View answerThe issue raised is a matter for Iarnród Éireann and I have referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please inform my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
