Written Answers Nos. 633 - 653
633. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the costs of importing fossil fuels to Ireland for the past five years; his views on the increasing costs and the effect that this will have on competitiveness for businesses here, and the increasing costs to households; the measures he will take to reduce these costs and improve Ireland’s competitiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48432/14]
View answerI and my Department are acutely aware of the financial challenges faced by families and businesses from high electricity prices. However, it is important to note that the electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive and that they operate within national and European regulatory regimes. I have no statutory function in the setting or review of electricity prices. Responsibility for electricity and gas market regulation is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body.
Comprehensive data on fossil fuel prices is available in the recently published Energy in Ireland 1990-2013 report. This is published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and is available on their website.
At a national level, electricity and gas prices are no longer regulated by CER. The competitive energy market results in choices for consumers and businesses in terms of suppliers, products and prices and exerts downward pressure on prices.
The reduction in wholesale gas prices since the beginning of 2014 has led to reductions in the wholesale electricity price. These reductions should have a knock on impact on retail prices and are reflected in the latest Eurostat figures, published by the SEAI on the 9 December 2014 in their report Electricity and Gas Prices in Ireland. The report shows that all business consumption bands in both electricity and gas experienced reductions in average prices in the first half of 2014, ranging from 0.7% to 4% in electricity and 6.7% to 12.9% in gas.
Similarly, Eurostat figures show a reduction of 5.7% in the average price of gas in the residential consumption band with the largest share of the market, while the average price of electricity in the residential consumption band with the largest share experienced a reduction of 1.3%.
Consumers can try to mitigate electricity and gas prices by shopping around to get the best possible price and service deal from suppliers and I would encourage them to do so. Measures such as comparison websites, approved by the CER, exist to assist them in this endeavour.
634. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will reconsider his Department's approach to a wind energy project (details supplied) and its application for entry to the REFIT scheme in view of the necessity of the scheme's support for the project's viability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48446/14]
View answerThe proposal referenced by the Deputy is for a project with wind turbines physically located in Ireland but connecting to the electricity grid in Northern Ireland.
The objective of the REFIT 2 scheme in Ireland is to incentivise the development of renewable electricity generation for connection to the electricity grid in Ireland. Projects that are supported by REFIT 2 are funded through the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy on electricity consumers in Ireland.
The proposal referenced by the Deputy does not fall within the terms of the REFIT 2 scheme because it does not connect to the electricity grid in Ireland. Rather, it connects to the grid in Northern Ireland and it would not be appropriate to fund it or to add extra cost to electricity consumers in Ireland.
635. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the final Government report on the future of An Post and the postal network will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48459/14]
View answerCurrently, there is a whole-of-Government review under the auspices of the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy exploring the scope for providing additional public services and securing new lines of business through the post office network.
At the October meeting of the Cabinet Committee, approval was conveyed for the establishment of a business development group to examine potential opportunities for both government and commercial sectors. This group will have an independent Chairperson and it is envisaged that it will comprise representatives from my Department, An Post and the Irish Postmasters’ Union. It is intended that the Minister of State for Rural Economic Development will also be represented on the group. Arrangements for the formation of the group are currently being put in place. It is envisaged that the group will provide an interim report by the end of the first quarter of 2015 with a final report envisaged by mid 2015.
636. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide a breakdown of the number of public sector workers under the aegis of his Department who have been approved for inter or intradepartmental or agency work transfers, both to and from County Waterford, in each of the past five years. [48804/14]
View answerNo staff have transferred into my Department from Government Departments in County Waterford or have transferred to other Departments in that county in the past five years. The information sought by the Deputy regarding staff in Agencies under the aegis of the Department is an operational matter for each Agency. I will, therefore, request the relevant Agencies to reply directly to the Deputy with the information requested in respect of their organisation.
637. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a person who has an appeal in the High Court, following refusal of immigration status, can apply for a driving licence and, if so, how they may proceed when they have no access to their passport. [48452/14]
View answerIrish driver licensing law operates within the framework of EU driver licensing law. Under EU law, licences can only be issued to those whose normal residence is in this jurisdiction.
The EU allows one exception, namely that people normally resident in one Member State but residing temporarily in another Member State for study purposes may apply for a licence in the State where they are studying.
If a person is not legally resident in this jurisdiction, they are therefore not eligible to be issued with a driving licence.
638. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to install public lighting on the N21 at the principal junction in Rathkeale, County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47820/14]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects (such as the N21) is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Noting the above position, I have referred the Deputy’s question to the NRA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
639. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to install public lighting at Banogue village in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47823/14]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (including lighting) is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. In view of this, I would suggest to the Deputy that he pursue the matter directly with the Local Authority as I have no function in respect of this matter.
640. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide the background to the way a certain site (details supplied) in County Cork came into the ownership of Fáilte Ireland; if the organisation will engage with a certain local group which is interested in purchasing or leasing it and using it for a purpose that would involve attracting additional tourists to the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47847/14]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the role of Fáilte Ireland is to support the tourism industry and work to sustain Ireland as a high-quality and competitive tourism destination. In that context the operation of tourism attractions is not a core function of the Agency nor is the leasing of facilities or land to third parties and it has in recent years been seeking to rationalise its property portfolio.
I understand that the property in question came into the ownership of Fáilte Ireland following its amalgamation with the South-West Regional Tourism Authority, which had been leasing the premises to an independent third party organisation since the 1970s. In 2013, however, this organisation surrendered its lease back to Fáilte Ireland although it had not yet run full-term. This afforded Fáilte Ireland the opportunity to sell the property and rationalise its portfolio, thereby reducing operating costs and generating capital funds.
The specifics of this process are operational matters for the board and management of Fáilte Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's Question to them for further information and direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
641. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department held meetings separate to the management advisory committee meetings which were attended by either him or the Minister of State and the management advisory committee; if so, if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of such meetings that occurred in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47871/14]
View answerNeither I nor my Ministerial colleagues within the Department held any separate meetings with the Management Board, as a whole, outside of the monthly Ministerial Management Board meetings.
We would of course on a day-to-day basis have various formal and informal meetings involving one or more members of the Management Board on issues across the range of their responsibilities and it would be impossible to produce a statistical summary of these.
642. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of management advisory committee meetings which were held for each of the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of management advisory committee meetings that were attended by him, the Minister of State, the political adviser, the Secretary General and all other titles of attendees in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47887/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 167 of the 26th November 2014. The position remains the same.
The information requested by the Deputy would require an inordinate time to compile as the number of meetings involved is quite substantial.
The Management Board (MB) of the Department would normally meet every Tuesday morning except for the month of August and over the Christmas/New Year period. It is comprised of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretaries of the Department, currently 5. Meetings are also attended by the secretary to the MB. The Special Adviser to the Minister and a representative from the Ministers of State Offices would also attend for a standard agenda Item on "Ministerial, Government, and Oireachtas Business". Other departmental civil servants may be asked to attend for agenda items which are of direct relevance to them.
Additionally, the Ministerial Management Board (MMB) would normally convene once a month, again with the exception of August. It comprises the Minister, Ministers of State and the MB. The advisors to Ministers also attend, as does the Secretary to the MB and the Private Secretaries to the Minister and Secretary General. The Financial Report is a standard Agenda Item for every meeting and the Principal Officer of the Department's Finance Division and a number of his staff attend for this Agenda Item. Other civil servants may be asked to attend depending on agenda items.
643. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding test centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47921/14]
View answerUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the Road Safety Authority has the overall responsibility for the operation, oversight, development, quality assurance and delivery of commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing arrangements.
I have therefore forwarded this Question to the RSA for direct reply to the Deputy. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
644. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when he will publish the national walking policy as stated in smarter travel; the steps he has taken to progress this initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47923/14]
View answerWhile my Department has no plans to develop a specific National Walking Policy, I am satisfied that the government's investment in sustainable travel under 3 key programmes will achieve a number of the objectives for the creation of a culture of walking in Ireland as set out in the Transport Policy for Ireland - A Sustainable Transport Future: Smarter Travel Areas, Active Travel Towns and National Cycle Network.
Under the Smarter Travel Areas Programme, Westport, Dungarvan and Limerick city as demonstration areas will inform policy on the best ways of improving cycling, walking and public transport use in our towns. The Active Travel Towns Programme has funded the development of walking and cycling strategies in a number of small and medium sized towns across the country and also funds the development of infrastructure that supports walking and cycling within those towns. One of the expected benefits of this programme will be increased footfall in towns facilitating walking as a matter of routine. The National Cycle Network Programme also promotes the development of a network that can support both walking and cycling. The Great Western Greenway in Mayo as an example is used by many pedestrians as well as cyclists.
The National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council under the remit of my Department is currently developing a revised Irish Trails Strategy to support outdoor recreational activities including walking. The development of this revised strategy will serve to strengthen the link between walking as a tourism asset and walking as an everyday mode of transport.
Increased walking and cycling makes for safer streets and communities and the development of infrastructure to support one complements the other.
645. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason personal public service numbers are required for the issuing of a new licence; and the reason the information is stored for a period of 20 years, with the ability for it to be passed to other Government Departments and third parties. [47929/14]
View answerThe requirement to provide a PPS number as part of the driver licensing process relates to identity security.
The driver licensing service is designed to operate to the Government SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment) 2 standard. This standard was developed by the Department of Social Protection. ID is verified in the driver licensing process through a number of measures, including proof of residency, proof of address and proof of PPS number, as well as presentation of documents such as passports.
It is important to verify the identity of driver licence applicants, both for the driving licence itself and because driving licences are so often accepted as proof of identity in other contexts.
The information is retained by the National Driver Licensing Service (NDLS) as part of the data collected to verify identity. As the NDLS operates with outsourced contractors, these contractors may have access to the data exclusively for driver licensing purposes. The NDLS is subject to the same data protection as any other State organisation, and the information is not shared with any other parties. I also understand that the NDLS liaised with the Data Commissioner when developing their policies on data storage.
646. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the ways in which a person can apply for a driving test; his views on an alternative format for persons who do not have access to online methods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47930/14]
View answerThe operation of the driver testing service is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority. I have therefore referred this question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
647. Deputy Eamon Gilmore asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on a project (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47938/14]
View answerThe matter raised is an operational one for the Board and management of Fáilte Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's Question to them for further information and direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
648. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will extend the timeframe for the national car test penalty system due to the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47941/14]
View answer650. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action he is taking to deal with the backlog of car owners looking for national car tests in view of the new penalty points announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47959/14]
View answer662. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason there is at least a four week delay, in some cases for much longer periods, in securing an appointment for national car testing and not a ten day window or quicker access to securing an appointment for the NCT as stated by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48154/14]
View answer670. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will ensure that persons who have booked their national car test and have proof of same are not liable for three penalty points on their licence and that the Garda will exercise some discretion in this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48207/14]
View answer673. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views that it is fair and acceptable that a driver can receive three penalty points for not having a current national car test certificate displayed, yet the current waiting for the NCT is on average three months; and if there is a provision in place to deal with this situation. [48333/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 648, 650, 662, 670 and 673 together.
Changes to the penalty points regime which came into effect on 8 December last were legislated for under the Road Traffic Act 2014. Those changes relate to a range of measures, including the National Car Test (NCT) system, which contribute to making our roads safer for all users and I do not propose to revisit them.
It has, for some years, been an offence to use a vehicle on public roads without a valid NCT certificate. Prior to the recent change, this offence involved a direct summons to court and the assignment of 5 penalty points on conviction. The provisions in the 2014 Act brought this offence within the fixed charge notice system. An alleged offender will now be issued with a fixed charge notice and, on payment of the €60 charge, will have 3 penalty points assigned to their licence. The driver will, of course, continue to have the option of going to court where 5 points will still apply on conviction.
Enforcement of the relevant legislation is a matter for An Garda Síochána. If a person’s NCT test date is imminent, it will be a matter for the Garda to use their discretion. However, responsibility rests with owners and users of vehicles to ensure their vehicles are in compliance with the law.
I understand from the Road Safety Authority that, last week, the NCTS experienced its highest demand ever for tests with the call centre answering over 63,000 calls. The NCTS dealt with this unprecedented demand and kept the priority list stable.
The introduction of this change to the penalty point system has proved to be effective in bringing non-compliant people into the NCT system. This is reflected in the fact that the RSA has informed me that a considerable number of cars currently being tested are overdue and late for their test, some of them over a year late.
The RSA has stated that the majority of car owners, including those who require an early test, will receive an NCT appointment within 28 days and additional resources have been put in place to help deal with such requests. The RSA has repeatedly emphasised that the availability of appointments on the NCT website is not a reflection of the total number of slots available to customers. If a person is in need of an early test they should follow the advice on the NCTS website which clearly advises customers, if they cannot obtain a suitable slot online, to contact the NCTS call centre directly on (01) 413 5992.
649. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 575 of 18 November 2014, if he will provide the detailed rationale for categorising a club (details supplied) in County Wicklow as one of the 11 organisations deemed invalid for the sports capital programme funding by virtue of being a private and/or commercial organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47955/14]
View answerThe application from the club referred to by the Deputy was deemed to be invalid on the grounds that it was considered to be a private club. The club had restrictions on membership as outlined on their website and these were deemed to make the club a private club.
All aspects of the operation of the Sports Capital Programme are currently being reviewed in preparation for the 2015 round of the Programme. If the club have any suggestions on the operation of the Programme or any queries on how their application under the 2014 Programme was assessed they can of course contact the Department.
651. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the annual levels of commuter and commercial traffic that have used the N25 Waterford city bypass toll bridge since it opened in 2009 to date in 2014; and the total revenue raised by these tolls each year over that period. [47979/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have overall responsibility for policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The implementation of individual national road schemes which provide for tolling, is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2007. Moreover, the statutory power to levy tolls on national roads, to make toll bye-laws and to enter into toll agreements with private investors in respect of national roads is very specifically vested in the NRA under Part V of the Roads Act, 1993 (as amended).
Noting the above position, I have referred the Deputy’s question to the NRA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
652. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the cost of the maintenance of the Bus Éireann Fleet in 2012 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47983/14]
View answerThe issue raised is a matter for Bus 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 response within ten working days.
653. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide details of all official foreign trips he and Ministers of State in his Department plan to take between now and the end of 2015; if he will provide the names of the persons he and the Ministers of State in his Department will meet on these trips; the purpose of the trips; the duration of the trips; if there are plans to use all of these trips to promote Ireland as a good place for doing business and as a destination for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48040/14]
View answerI am currently looking at my diary for next year in relation to official foreign travel. As soon as any official foreign travel has been confirmed I will post the information on my Department's website.
Minister Ring currently has no overseas travel arrangements made between now and the end of 2015.
Minister Phelan has no overseas trips scheduled in 2015, as of now.
The Deputy will appreciate that such travel can be for a range of reasons. For example, Ministers attend EU Council meetings which are primarily about EU business. In the case of Minister Ring and myself, we also engage in a series of overseas missions to promote tourism to Ireland during the year which I believe to be just as important as promoting foreign direct investment.
