Written Answers Nos. 896-908
896. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form for each year from 2009 to 2014 and for 2015 to date the total number of freedom of information requests received by his Department; the total refused; granted; part-granted; the number of successful appeals; part-successful appeals; and refusals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23616/15]
View answerI set out in the following table the information requested by the Deputy for the period 2009 to 2014. It should be noted that two additional areas were added to the Department, namely Tourism and Sport, in March 2011. I can confirm that the number of requests received since the introduction of the new Act in October 2014 have increased by over 100%. From 1 January 2015 to 15 June 2015, a total of 110 requests have been received. The full data for 2015 in the manner requested by the Deputy is being collated at present and will be forwarded to the Deputy within the next week.
|
Year |
Total Requests |
Refused |
Granted |
Part-granted |
With-drawn * |
Total Appeals*** |
Successful |
Part Successful |
Refusal** |
|
1 |
2 [3+4+5+6] |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 [8+9+10] |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
2009 |
117 |
26 |
37 |
27 |
27 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|
2010 |
114 |
17 |
31 |
44 |
22 |
7 |
- |
4 |
3 |
|
2011 |
86 |
14 |
25 |
36 |
11 |
4 |
- |
1 |
3 |
|
2012 |
125 |
21 |
30 |
39 |
35 |
4 |
- |
3 |
1 |
|
2013 |
84 |
12 |
14 |
36 |
22 |
6 |
- |
2 |
4 |
|
2014 |
95 |
7 |
21 |
31 |
36 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
2015 |
See note |
- |
* This heading includes FOI Requests which were handled outside of FOI. It also includes 1 Request transferred to another Department in 2009 and 2 thus transferred in 2012.
**Appeals: this is equivalent to Department Internal Reviews. Thus, Col. 7 is a sub-group of Col. 2.
*The heading Refusal is taken to mean that the original Request Decision was upheld.
897. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the meaning of the term "other" in the profit and loss account as issued by Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company; if he will accept that the term "other" could include a performance-related bonus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23625/15]
View answerDun Laoghaire Harbour Company submits its accounts to my Department in line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. The accounts are audited in line with Irish Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The Deputy does not specify to which accounts his question relates but it is assumed that it is the 2013 audited accounts. The Company has confirmed that the term other, referred to in note 4 in the profit and loss account, is an amalgam of operating expenditure and covers a wide range of activities, but specifically does not include a performance related bonus.
900. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in view of the fact that there is a vacancy on the board of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company if a worker director will now be appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23628/15]
View answerThe filling of the vacancies on the Board of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company will be considered in the coming months in the context of the company's integration into the local authority. As I have advised previously, the Company continues to operate with a legal quorum.
901. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to previous parliamentary questions if he will provide in tabular form a breakdown of all directors' fees and expenses paid to a person (details supplied) for a directorship previously held by that person on boards under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23629/15]
View answerIn terms of boards under the aegis of my Department, since its establishment in 2011, the person in question previously served on the board of the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland. As the payment of fees and expenses to directors of Fáilte Ireland is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland, I have referred the question to the agency for direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
903. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 1031 of 26 May 2015 his views on whether fees to chairpersons and members of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company should be reduced in line with the fees paid to the chairpersons and members of Drogheda, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow as laid down, or alternatively that fees to the companies in Drogheda, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow should be increased to bring them in line with Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, as they will be designated ports of regional significance with the same level of responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23631/15]
View answerThe rates of expenses payable to the directors of State companies is a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The expenses payable to the directors of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company are in line with the current rates set by that Department. The review of the level of fees payable to the directors of the company is also a matter for that Department.
904. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the number, name and date of Bills initiated in his Department that have been subject to the pre-legislative scrutiny procedure in the Oireachtas. [23647/15]
View answer905. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the number, name and date of Bills initiated in his Department since September 2013. [23673/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 904 and 905 together.
The information in relation to Bills initiated in the Dáil or Seanad since September 2013 is contained in the following table. In addition, there are a number of draft pieces of legislation which have yet to be initiated in the Dáil or Seanad but have already gone through the pre-scrutiny process (i.e. proposed Harbours Bill and a Road Traffic Bill).
|
Bill Name |
Date |
Pre-Legislative Scrutiny |
|
Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014 – no. 113 of 2014 – |
Published 16 December 2014 |
No pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken, as this was emergency legislation |
|
Vehicle Clamping Bill 2014 (No. 51 of 2014) |
Published June 5th 2014 |
Pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken. |
|
Number 139 of 2013 Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013 |
Presented 19 December 2013 Published 23 December 2013 |
Pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken. |
|
Roads Bill 2014 |
Initiated in January 2014 |
Pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken. |
|
No. 85 of 2014 Sport Ireland Bill |
Initiated on 26 August 2014 |
Pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken. |
|
State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014 (No. 27 of 2014) |
Enacted on the 27th July 2014. |
Pre-legislative scrutiny undertaken. |
906. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the total amount spent in each of the years 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments; if his Department has been audited for tax compliance on these payments and other benefits-in-kind; if these processes have been revised in view of the Revenue Commissioners concerns over practices in other State bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23689/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy regarding subsistence and taxi payments is set out in the following table. My Department has been audited by the Revenue Commissioners for tax compliance. No issues were raised in this regard. Travel and taxi usage policies are reviewed on a regular basis. Changes in relevant circulars issued centrally by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are notified to all Departmental staff as a matter of course.
|
- |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 (to 12/6) |
|
Subsistence |
€761,229.05 |
€908,416.18 |
€954,234.07 |
€840,572.32 |
€363.068.04 |
|
Taxis |
€28,307.86 |
€33,001.57 |
€23,619 |
€22,801.25 |
€9,726.75 |
907. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form and by year all external consultant reports commissioned by his Department since March 2011; the costs per report; the company involved; the title of the report; and publication date. [23705/15]
View answerDetails of external services procured by the Department, including reports commissioned by the Department, are available on my Department's website at the following link http://www.dttas.ie/corporate/english/expenditure-external-services.
The details will be updated on a 6 monthly basis in future and full details of external services for the first 6 months of 2015 will be collated and published in the coming weeks.
908. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the process and timing involved in the 2015 sports capital programme now that all applications have been submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23748/15]
View answerAll applications received under the 2015 Sports Capital Programme are currently being assessed by officials in the Department and I expect to announce allocations later this year.
