Written Answers Nos. 687-699
687. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the cost of implementing a living wage of €11.50 for all employees directly employed or in agencies funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46402/15]
View answerMy Department currently has 10 staff members who earn less than €11.50 gross per hour. The cost to my Department of introducing a minimum wage of €11.50 would be in the region of €42,000 per annum.
The salaries paid to employees of the bodies under the aegis of my Department are generally matters for those bodies.
688. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding allocated to Cork County Council to upgrade roads in the past six months; and the funding allocated specifically to upgrade the Fota Road, which is the only road access into Cobh town in County Cork, given that many fatal accidents have taken place on this road. [46221/15]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area (including the R624 Cobh Road project), is a statutory function of Cork County Council in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from these monies is a matter for each local authority.
Cork County Council was allocated grant funding of €32.21 million in February 2015 and a further amount of €3.1 million in July in respect of regional and local roads.
Given the cutbacks since the financial crisis in State funding for regional and local roads, it has been necessary to curtail the grant programme for major new regional and local road schemes and for major realignment schemes in order to protect the funding available for the maintenance of the existing network. It has not, therefore, been possible to provide funding for a range of major road improvement schemes such as a proposed upgrade of the R624 Cobh Road. A submission to my Department in 2010 on this project put the cost of the construction of a new road and bridge at €57.5 million.
When allocating grant funding my Department has emphasised that the commitment of local authorities to contribute significantly from their own resources towards the cost of improving and maintaining the regional and local roads network is essential and that full consideration needs to be given to utilising the Local Property Tax to boost own resources expenditure on regional and local road maintenance and renewal.
689. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding he will provide for the specific improvement grant scheme in 2016; if he will support the provision of funding for a scheme (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45701/15]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant road authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Council's own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.
Given the challenging financial climate, the Specific Grants Scheme was curtailed from 2014 in order to maximise the funding available for repair and strengthening work on the existing road network. In this context, it is important to reiterate that the purpose of Exchequer funding is to supplement local authorities' own resources.
I have been emphasising to local authorities the importance of prioritising expenditure on roads when allocating own resources, including revenue from Local Property Tax receipts.
690. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport how the views of local residents are being taken into account following a recent consultation exercise relating to a road project (details supplied) in County Cork; how many submissions have been received from members of the public; the next steps in the process including its estimated timeline; if alternative plans are being drawn up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45738/15]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, Tourism and 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, including the N28 upgrade is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (formerly known as the NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with Cork County Council.
Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act.
Noting the above position, I have referred the Deputy's question to TII for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
691. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to revisit the situation facing deferred members of the Irish airlines (general employees) superannuation scheme; the steps that have been taken to address this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45740/15]
View answerThe Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) and its funding are primarily matters for the Trustee, the companies participating in the scheme, the scheme members and the Pensions Authority.
The funding solution adopted by the IASS Trustee was approved by the Pensions Authority and was implemented in December 2014 with the freezing of the scheme and reductions in benefits for active members, pensioners and deferred pensioners. The IASS Trustee considered that those measures were in the best interest of the members of the IASS as a whole. The funding solution also involved the employers, daa and Aer Lingus, making funding of some €260m available outside the IASS into new defined contribution pension arrangements to help mitigate the effects of the Trustee proposal for active and deferred members.
I am conscious of the impact of the funding solution adopted by the IASS Trustee for many scheme members, including deferred members. However, I am satisfied that the decisions that have been made with regard to the IASS were taken with the overall best interests of members in mind.
692. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount spent on building cycle lanes and the kilometre length of cycle lanes that exist, by county or local authority, in tabular form. [45746/15]
View answer693. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the capital development and construction cost, name and location of each cycle greenway. [45747/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 692 and 693 together.
The following table outlines the investment amount, name and location of each greenway/cycleway/cyclelane funded by the Sustainable Transport Division of my Department and delivered to date under the National Cycle Network (NCN), Active Travel Towns (ATT), Smarter Travel Demonstration Areas (STA) funding programmes and the Government Stimulus Package - €10 million of which was earmarked for the delivery of greenways. The cycling infrastructure element of the ATTs and the STAs projects is just one element of those projects and it was not possible to extract the cost associated with their delivery within the short timeframe allowed.
These figures do not include the contribution individual local authorities may have made to the cost of delivering projects under these programmes or the projects delivered independently by local authorities or other agencies such as the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure for Ireland or Waterways Ireland.
National Cycle Network Funding Programme 2012-2013
|
County |
Cycleway/Greenway |
km |
Investment |
|
Carlow/Kilkenny |
Carlow to Paulstown to Kilkenny cycleway |
44.4 |
463,500 |
|
Clare |
Ennistymon to Lahinch |
4 |
400,000 |
|
Donegal |
Donegal Town to Newtowncunningham |
195.5 |
497,000 |
|
Fingal |
Ashtown to Blanchardstown/Castleknock greenway |
3 |
600,000 |
|
Kerry |
Killarney to Fossa |
1.17 |
142,773 |
|
Limerick |
Abbeyfeale town to Rathoran |
3 |
289,875 |
|
Louth |
Dundalk to Carlingford |
6.2 |
687,000 |
|
Mayo |
Castlebar to Turlough |
8.8 |
725,000 |
|
Meath |
Drogheda to Oldbridge |
3 |
500,000 |
|
Monaghan |
Clones to Monaghan (Ulster Canal Greenway) |
4 |
621,000 |
|
Tipperary |
N52 extension |
0.5 |
334,530 |
|
Offaly |
Tullamore to Moate |
16.8 |
400,000 |
|
Waterford (city) |
Tramore Road R675 |
3.2 |
289,000 |
|
Waterford (Co) |
Ring Road to Somerville Roundabout in Tramore |
11.3 |
310,500 |
|
Westmeath |
Boardstown Bridge to Longford/Westmeath Co boundary |
9.5 |
451,250 |
|
National Cycle Network Funding Programme 2014-2016 |
|||
|
Waterford |
Clonee to Durrow |
7.2 |
897,739 |
|
Stimulus Package 2014 |
|||
|
Clare |
West Clare Greenway Phase 1 |
5 |
400,000 |
|
Kerry |
Tralee Fenit Phase 1 |
0.42 |
345,000 |
|
Kildare |
Arthur's Way |
25 |
415,000 |
|
Limerick |
Patrickswell to Limerick City |
4.14 |
575,000 |
|
Mayo |
Monasteries of the Moy (Ballina section) |
2.5 |
250,000 |
|
Waterford |
Kilmeaden to Bilberry |
9.6 |
1,100,000 |
|
Westmeath |
Athlone to Mullingar |
44 |
7,262,159 |
|
Westmeath |
Coolnahay to Co Boundary |
14.4 |
790,000 |
|
Active Travel Towns Funding Programme 2012-2013 |
|||
|
Mayo |
Ballina/Killaloe |
2.66 |
see reply |
|
Carlow |
Carlow Town |
13.66 |
see reply |
|
Leitrim |
Carrick-on-Shannon |
8.55 |
see reply |
|
Galway |
Loughrea |
8 |
see reply |
|
Cavan |
Cavan Town |
6 |
see reply |
|
Tipperary |
Clonmel |
2 |
see reply |
|
Mayo |
Castlebar |
1.1 |
see reply |
|
Sligo |
Sligo Town |
5.5 |
see reply |
|
Galway |
Oranmore |
0.2 |
see reply |
|
Donegal |
Letterkenny |
54 |
see reply |
|
Limerick |
Nenagh |
5 |
see reply |
|
Active Travel Towns Funding Programme 2014-2016 |
|||
|
Mayo |
Claremorris |
4 |
see reply |
|
Offaly |
Birr |
4 |
see reply |
|
Smarter Travel Demonstration Areas 2012-2017 |
|||
|
Limerick |
Limerick |
9.1 |
see reply |
|
Waterford |
Dungarvan |
14 |
see reply |
|
Mayo |
Westport |
15.6 |
see reply |
Details of all smarter travel projects funded can be found on my Department's Smarter Travel website www.smartertravel.ie.
694. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of steady State fixed capital investment required to maintain cycle lanes in the greater Dublin area, by county, in tabular form. [45748/15]
View answerThe National Transport Authority (NTA) is responsible for the provision of cycling infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) in cooperation with the relevant local authority. I have forwarded your request to the NTA for direct response. If you have not received a reply within 10 working days please contact my private office.
695. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of steady State fixed-capital investment required to maintain local, regional and national roads, by county, in tabular form. [45749/15]
View answerAs part of work to determine a Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport, my Department's Economic and Financial Evaluation Unit assessed and estimated the level of expenditure required to maintain the current land transport system in its 'steady state', a key element of which is the national, regional and local road network.
The full analysis, in terms of output, methodology and assumptions is contained within 'Background Paper 13: Analysis of Steady State Cost of Transport in Ireland', which is published on both my Department's website and the website of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES). It does not, however, include a regional breakdown of costs for the road network.
The estimate for regional and local roads is based on industry standards, asset management best practice and conservative cost estimates. It is based on a minimum annual output of providing surface sealing on 5% of the network, road strengthening on 5% of the network and general maintenance and repairs on the totality. The analysis points towards a conservative estimate of €580 million per annum to keep the regional and local road network in a steady state condition.
For the national road network the steady state analysis includes the cost of pavement works, signs and lines, safety works, bridge works, routine maintenance, small works and costs associated with programme support and network management. In addition to these network costs, there are also capital budget commitments requiring provision to be made for schemes at closeout and construction and also for ongoing commitments in respect of PPP projects. The analysis conducted determined that on average the gross steady state requirement for national roads is c. €580 million per annum (using 2015 as the basis).
National Road Steady State Estimate, 2015
|
- |
2015 (€m) |
|
Network Management |
142 |
|
Maintenance, Renewal and Small Works |
234 |
|
Annual Capital Payments Committed |
108 |
|
Major Projects Capital Commitments Total |
98 |
|
Gross Total of Steady State and Capital Commitments |
582 |
Regional and Local Road Annual Steady State Estimate
|
- |
€m |
|
Regional (Rural) |
137 |
|
Regional (Urban) |
19 |
|
Regional (Total) |
155 |
|
Local (Rural) |
371 |
|
Local (Urban) |
54 |
|
Local (Total) |
424 |
|
Regional and Local (Total) |
580 |
696. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport how much Córas Iompair Éireann, Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus real-time information smart telephone apps cost to develop and roll out. [45750/15]
View answerResponsibility to develop, procure, implement, operate and maintain the Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) system is a statutory function of the National Transport Authority (NTA).
Noting this I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
697. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount his Department has received in fees from freedom of information requests in 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45766/15]
View answerThe Department received €1,051.82 in fees in 2014 and €685.00 to date this year in fees from Freedom of Information requests.
95 FOI Requests and 3 Internal Reviews were received in 2014 and to date this year the figures are 237 and 15, respectively. A €15.00 FOI Request application fee was charged until 14 October 2014 when the FOI Act 2014 came into operation and since that date this fee has been abolished.
698. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of political staff working in his Department, including the role and salary of each staff member. [45793/15]
View answerThere are ten non civil service staff employed in my office and that of Minister of State Michael Ring.
In my Departmental duties and responsibilities I am aided by two Special Advisors whose salary scale is €79,401 to €91, 624 per annum (PPC - Personal Pension Contribution) and €75,647 to €87,258 per annum (non-PPC). Minister of State Ring has one Advisor who provides his service free of charge.
Both Minister of State Ring and I each have a personal secretary and a personal assistant who work on constituency matters. The salary scale for a personal secretary is €456.50 to €915.20 per week and for a personal assistant is €43,715 to €56,060 per annum. Furthermore, each of us has two civilian drivers. The salary for a civilian driver is €631.75 per week.
All these staff are employed in line with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on the staffing of Minister and Minister of State's offices.
699. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of Bills his Department has published since 9 March 2011; the number and Title of those Bills that included a regulatory impact assessment in advance of publication; the regulatory impact assessments published; the number of Bills promised for publication; the Bills that will include a regulatory impact assessment; the regulatory impact assessments that will be published before publication of the relevant Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45815/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is contained in the tables following.
RIAs were not carried out on the National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015, the Transport (Córas Iompair Éireann and Subsidiary Companies Borrowings) Bill 2011 or on the Public Transport Bill 2015 as it was considered that these Bills do not have an impact on the existing regulatory framework.
|
Bills published since 9th March 2011 |
Was RIA included? |
Was RIA published? |
|
National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015 |
No |
N/A |
|
Road Transport Bill 2011 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Road Traffic Bill 2011 (provision of breath and blood samples) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Road Safety Authority (Commercial Vehicles Roadworthiness) Bill 2012 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013 (impairment testing) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Taxi Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2012 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Transport (Córas Iompair Éireann and Subsidiary Companies Borrowings) Bill 2012 |
No |
N/A |
|
Sport Ireland Bill |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Roads Bill 2013 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Harbours Bill 2015 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Public Transport Bill 2015 |
No |
N/A |
|
Merchant Shipping(Registration of Ships) Bill 2013 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Vehicle Clamping Act 2015 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Names of upcoming Bills promised for publication |
Will RIA be included? |
Will RIA be published |
|
Road Traffic Bill 2015 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Road Transport Bill 2014 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Merchant Shipping (International Conventions and Maritime Safety) Bill |
Yes |
Yes |
