Peadar Tóibín
Question:216. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the cost of completing the N2 and A5 dual carriageway; and when this road will be completed. [15118/16]
View answerRoad Projects Expenditure
Questions (216)
Written answers
As 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 (including the N2) is a matter for the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (formerly known as the NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with Monaghan 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 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 days.
As regards the A5, the planning and implementation of the project, including the project budget, is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland authorities. As the Deputy is aware the Stormont House Agreement and Implementation Plan - A Fresh Start reaffirmed the Government's commitment to provide funding of £50 million for the A5 project and committed an additional £25 million to ensure that Phase 1 of the project (Newbuildings to north of Strabane) can commence as soon as the necessary planning issues have been resolved by the Northern Ireland authorities. Under the Agreement it is envisaged that construction of Phase 1 of the A5 will start in 2017 with a view to completion in 2019. In keeping with the revised project timeline, the Government funding is to be provided in three tranches of £25 million in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Road Projects
Questions (217)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:217. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has carried out a feasibility or cost benefit analysis on the development of a Dundalk to Sligo road as a Border corridor. [15136/16]
View answerWritten answers
The proposal for a East-West Road Corridor from Dundalk to Sligo encompasses both national and regional roads.
In relation to the national element as 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 national road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. 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.
As regards the regional road aspect of the proposal, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities 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. My Department has provided funding to Cavan County Council (acting as lead authority with Monaghan and Louth County Councils) in recent years to progress the regional road element of the project to preliminary design stage. As part of that process a multi-criteria analysis and initial cost/benefit analysis of route options was undertaken.
Given the cutbacks in State funding for regional and local roads since the financial crisis, 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. Funding is not, therefore, available to progress the scheme further at this point.
Road Projects Status
Questions (218)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:218. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of road and drain works carried out on a road (details supplied) which may lead to flooding of a property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15179/16]
View answerWritten answers
As 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 (including any projects on the N21 leaving Abbeyfeale in Limerick) is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with Limerick County Council.
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.
Legislative Programme
Questions (219)
Paul Murphy
Question:219. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the Bills he will reinitiate relevant to his Department from the previous Dáil; the Bills he will introduce in the coming sessions; when he will introduce each Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15206/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Bills my Department intends to reinitiate from the previous Dail are listed in the table. When the Bills in preparation are published it is my intention to bring them before the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity. These lists do not exclude the possibility of additional legislation being introduced, as appropriate, in the coming sessions.
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Bills |
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Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Legislation |
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Bills Currently before the Oireachtas |
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Road Traffic Bill 2016 |
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National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015 |
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Bills in Preparation |
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Merchant Shipping (International Conventions & Maritime Safety) Bill |
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Large Public Service Vehicle Bill 2016 |
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Irish Aviation Authority (Amendment) Bill 2016 |
Rail Network Safety
Questions (220)
Thomas P. Broughan
Question:220. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will seek assurances from the chief executive officer of Iarnród Éireann that extra security will be provided during good weather periods throughout the summer at train stations and on DART services, especially those near beaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15252/16]
View answerWritten answers
The issue raised is a matter 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 response within ten working days.
Road Tolls
Questions (221)
Thomas P. Broughan
Question:221. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to report on the revenues generated from the M50 toll in the years 2014 to date in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15253/16]
View answerWritten answers
As 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 is a matter for the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (formerly known as the NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the relevant local authority.
More specifically, 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 vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 (as amended by the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Roads Act 2007).
Accordingly I am forwarding your question to TII for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
Work Permits Applications
Questions (222)
John Brassil
Question:222. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to review the application process for the general employment permit for businesses as the current practice is manual application only and needs to be updated to an online version; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15180/16]
View answerWritten answers
The delivery of an online application system for employment permits is listed and reported as one of my Department’s commitments in the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 (Action 73).
My Department went to tender in July 2015 for the provision of an Employment Permits Online Application System. Following a competitive process a contract was signed with the preferred provider in November 2015. The Employment Permits Online System (EPOS) is envisaged to provide the user with a seamless, end to end online application and payment process.
Access to this system will be available through a dedicated web address or via the Department's website and will be compatible with a multitude of mobile devices and browsers. Employment Permits applications, payments and submission of supporting documentation will be made via the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS) and with Credit/Debit Cards. There will still be an option to apply for a permit on a hard copy application form but it is anticipated that the majority of business users will opt for the ease and speed of the online system.
This project is significantly advanced and entering the user acceptance testing phase later this month. The Employment Permits Online System (EPOS) is on target to meet the scheduled Go-Live date of end of Q3 2016.
Community Enterprise Centres
Questions (223)
Charlie McConalogue
Question:223. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason a centre (details supplied) did not receive funding under the community enterprise initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15183/16]
View answerWritten answers
118 applications for the Community Enterprise Initiative Competitive Fund were considered with a total value of €12.3m. There was strong demand for the funding and the process was highly competitive with a threshold mark of 60 to be reached to be successful. The primary criteria and basis for marking the applications were:
- Representation of community interests
- Financial need and viability/Value For Money
- Employment creation prospects
- Collaboration
- Future prospects/sustainability.
32 applications exceeded the threshold, following assessment by an external assessor and Committee adjudication and approval by Enterprise Ireland. The value of the successful projects amounted to €3.06m.
Due to the high demand, Enterprise Ireland will issue a further call for proposals in Quarter 3 this year. This new call will be open to those that may have been unsuccessful under the first call for proposals and also to new applicants.
Enterprise Ireland will work with all applicants that apply for funding under the second call for proposals.
I will engage closely with Enterprise Ireland to continue to roll out a series of new competitive regional funding initiatives that deliver on the potential of local and regional strengths; and promote collaboration among the various public and private interests to create new enterprises and jobs.
Legislative Programme
Questions (224)
Paul Murphy
Question:224. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the Bills she will reinitiate relevant to her Department from the previous Dáil; the Bills she will introduce in the coming sessions; when she will introduce each Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15207/16]
View answerWritten answers
I do not intend to re-initiate any Bills from the previous Dáil. The table sets out the Bills that I intend to introduce in the coming Dáil sessions.
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Bill |
Provisional Timeframe |
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Hallmarking (Amendment) Bill 2016. |
It is intended that the Hallmarking (Amendment) Bill 2016 will be initiated in the coming sessions. It is hoped to publish the Bill by end July 2016. |
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Companies (Accounting) Bill |
Q3 2016 |
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Statutory Audits Bill |
Q4 2016/Q1 2017 |
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Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill |
A Memorandum for Government seeking approval to draft this Bill will be submitted to Government in June 2016 |
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Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill |
A Memorandum for Government seeking approval to draft this Bill will be submitted to Government in June 2016 |
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Amendment to the Constitution (Unified Patent Court) Bill |
This Referendum is included in the Programme for Government. The publication of this Bill is subject to a Government decision on the timing of the Referendum |
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Industrial Development Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill |
Heads of Bill are currently under preparation |
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Casual Trading (Amendment) Bill |
Heads of Bill expected in the near future. Pre-Leg to follow shortly after |
I indicated in the Dail last week, in the course of the Private Members debate on the protection of workers' rights, my intentions in relation to the Duffy/Cahill report and the University of Limerick study on zero hour contracts and low hour contracts.
In relation to the Duffy/Cahill report, my priority is to consider responses to the public consultation on the report which is due to close on 17 June, with a view to bringing proposals to Government at an early date. While I do not want to anticipate the outcome of that process, it is clear that responding to the proposals made in the Duffy/Cahill report will involve bringing forward proposals for changes to the relevant legislation as it currently stands.
In relation to the University of Limerick study, I outlined that my Department is currently considering the large number of submissions received in response to the public consultation conducted earlier this year. The responses contain a variety of views both for and against the findings and recommendations, as made by UL. The study and the responses to it will be considered by Government at the earliest opportunity with a view to agreeing the actions to be taken, including proposals for changes to the law that may be required.
Legislative Measures
Questions (225)
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:225. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action she will take to legislate to introduce collective bargaining rights for freelance workers, in view of the Private Members' motion passed in Dáil Éireann on 2 June, and in the context of Ireland's failure to give effect to International Labour Organization conventions on the right of freelance workers to bargain collectively with their employer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15263/16]
View answerWritten answers
Following extensive and positive engagement with social partners, significant work over the past few years has resulted in key legislative developments that significantly enhance the rights of employees to collectively bargain with their employer and to access the State’s workplace relations machinery in order to vindicate their rights. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for a number of significant reforms, which alongside the strengthening of the statutory code on victimisation to explicitly prohibit inducement to forego trade union representation, reaffirm compliance with recent judgements of the European Court of Human Rights and addresses the issues raised by the ILO Committee of Freedom of Association in the context of a complaint arising from the Supreme Court Ryanair case.
The Act significantly improves the position of workers and trade unions working to improve the terms and conditions of members in instances where collective bargaining is not engaged in by their employer. In such situations, it ensures that workers, aided by their trade union, can advance claims about pay, terms and conditions and have those determined by the Labour Court based on comparisons with similar companies.
Concerning the issue of collective bargaining rights for freelance workers, you will be aware of the investigation conducted in 2004 by the then Competition Authority (now the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) regarding possible price fixing among self-employed actors and advertising agencies. The Competition Authority was the statutorily independent authority in Ireland with responsibility to enforce both Irish and EU competition law at the time.
The Authority found that an agreement between Irish Actors Equity SIPTU, on behalf of the actors, and the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland, on behalf of advertising agencies, was in breach of competition law in that it set the fees for services rendered. The self-employed workers in this case were deemed to be “undertakings". Such setting of prices by an association of undertakings runs counter to EU and national competition law.
The decision of the Competition Authority stated that while it was perfectly legal for a trade union to represent employees in collective bargaining with their employers, its trade union mantle could not exempt its conduct when it acts as a trade association for self-employed contractors in the area of price setting. However, this does not preclude, nor has it ever precluded, anybody representing the self-employed workers on other working conditions apart from price setting.
Under both Irish and EU Competition law, self-employed persons, including professionals who are not employees, are regarded as “undertakings”. There is ample EU case law in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which has determined that professionals are regarded as undertakings from an EU Competition law perspective.
It is recognised that there can be instances where self-employed workers could be regarded as being in a comparable situation to employment, often referred to as false self-employment. A CJEU ruling in December 2014 in the case of FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media v Staat de Netherlanden relates to self-employed substitute orchestral musicians in the Netherlands. The CJEU ruling emphasised that self-employed service providers are, in principle, “undertakings” and are therefore subject to competition law. However, importantly the CJEU also acknowledged that it is important to examine, in each case, whether individuals who appear to be self-employed service providers should, in fact, be categorised as “false self-employed” because they are, in reality, employees who should not be subject to the provisions of Competition law. The Court made it clear that it is for National courts to examine the facts of particular cases in order to determine whether an individual should be classified as a “false self-employed” person - and therefore be deemed to be an employee for competition law purposes – or as a genuinely self-employed independent contractor.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the then Minister for Business and Employment asked that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission review its 2004 decision in light of the aforementioned decision. The Commission has carefully considered this case and is of the view that the analysis and conclusions of the former Competition Authority in 2004 remain valid in light of the relevant principles of EU Competition law set out in the CJEU ruling. It also has acknowledged that had the undertakings in the 2004 case been proven to be “false self-employed”, then a different conclusion would have emerged.
It is important to state that there are a range of wider considerations that would require detailed examination and consultation to ensure that the basic tenets of both Irish Competition law and EU Competition law and the Treaty of the European Union from which Irish Competition law is derived, are not compromised and that there are no unintended consequences which could have implications for the economy and the State.