Written Answers Nos. 542-560
543. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when high-speed broadband will be available to all households in a village (details supplied) in County Cork; the details and timelines in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43552/18]
View answerThe Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Today more than, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention.
In April 2017 my Department published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. This map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan.
The Map is colour coded and searchable by address/eircode:
- The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP and are the subject of an ongoing procurement process.
- The BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
- The LIGHT BLUE areas represent eir's commercial rural deployment plans to rollout high speed broadband to 300,000 premises as part of a Commitment Agreement signed with my Department in April 2017.
There are 290 premises in the townland of Ballygarvan, Co Cork referenced by the Deputy. 61 (21%) fall within the AMBER area and will be served under the State led Intervention. 192 (66%) of premises are in a BLUE area and are or will be served by commercial providers, while 37 (13%) are LIGHT BLUE and fall to be served by eir's planned rural deployment.
The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage with evaluation ongoing of the final tender received on 18 September. The Taoiseach has asked Mr. Peter Smyth, the independent process auditor to the NBP procurement to review the process. Mr. Smyth will submit a report to the Taoiseach and to me as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment within three weeks. This review will take place in parallel to the evaluation being carried out by the Department’s procurement team on the final tender for the plan.
In April 2017, my Department signed a Commitment Agreement with eir in relation to its plans to provide high speed broadband to 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis. Information on eir's planned rural deployment is available at http://fibrerollout.ie/eircode-lookup/. A copy of the Commitment Agreement is available on my Department’s website www.dccae.gov.ie.
Data for Q2 2018 submitted by eir to my Department indicates that the company had passed some 175,000 premises nationwide as part of its ongoing deployment.
For those premises currently awaiting access to high speed broadband, practical initiatives will continue to be addressed through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to address obstacles and improve connectivity in respect of existing and future mobile phone and broadband services.
Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through the Broadband Officers is continuing to strengthen. These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities. The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements.
544. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if additional tyre collection facilities will be arranged for counties Cavan and Monaghan in view of the huge demand on a previous collection date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43632/18]
View answer545. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if support will be provided for the once-off collection and recycling of farm tyre waste in the remaining counties where a collection service has not taken place to support the sustainable and environmentally friendly management of this waste stream; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43656/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 544 and 545 together.
In 2017, my Department made available funding of €1 million to local authorities to deal with the clean-up of existing stockpiles of tyres illegally dumped across the countryside. This was done to support the introduction of a new compliance scheme for tyres and waste tyres from 1 October 2017. The new full compliance scheme to deal with Ireland's chronic waste tyres problem, which is operated by Repak ELT with a registration and reporting role for the Producer Register Limited (PRL), is funded by a visible Environmental Management Cost (vEMC) on the sale of new tyres. The new compliance scheme provides the assurance to drivers and consumers that their old tyres will be disposed of responsibly by the retailer when they buy new tyres.
At that time, the Minister also indicated that he would look at the issue of old tyres on farms and €700,000 was recently allocated to remove tyres from farms. Irish Farm Film Producers Group (IFFPG), the national farm plastics recycling compliance scheme, agreed to undertake the removal of tyres from farms through 4 bring centres around the country. The collections, which were chosen because they represent a good geographical spread, took place as follows:
- Cootehill Mart, Co. Cavan (29 September)
- New Ross Mart, Co. Wexford (9 October)
- Athenry Mart, Co Galway (13th October) and
- Gort Drum Mines, Monard, Co. Tipperary (20th October)
In total, approximately 4,253 tonnes of tyres were collected from these bring centres and the €700,000 budget was fully expended.
546. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will reallocate the unspent funds that were to be used for the 2018 farm hazardous waste collection centres to support the completion of the nationwide collection and recycling of farm tyre waste. [43665/18]
View answer547. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to ensure that the farm hazardous waste collection centres will resume in 2019 in view of their success in the collection and recycling of hazardous waste on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43666/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 546 and 547 together.
From 2013 to 2017 inclusive, the EPA carried out annual farm hazardous waste collections as a pilot scheme. The aim of this pilot scheme was to ascertain the types and volumes of waste on farms which needed to be disposed of safely. During the pilot, over 1,000 tonnes of hazardous waste including pesticides, veterinary products, waste oil, contaminated containers, paint, WEEE and batteries has been collected and disposed of safely.
I expect the EPA to publish their findings in relation this pilot scheme shortly. However, I have received a draft of same and the range and quantity of hazardous waste removed convinces me that there is an absolute necessity for such collections in order to provide an outlet for farmers to dispose of these wastes safely.
One of the main recommendations by the EPA is that a national scheme be developed to collect these hazardous wastes. My Department is currently exploring with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and other stakeholders how this might be developed and funded.
The pilot study was primarily funded through the National Waste Prevention Programme with a contribution from other stakeholders and farmers. As the Deputy is aware, however, I made separate funding of €700,000 available this year for the collection of waste tyres from farms.
548. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the categories of funding available to local authorities through his Department; the amount of funding provided for each scheme in 2016 and 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43725/18]
View answerMy Department provides funding through a number of schemes to local authorities, the details of which are set out in the following table.
|
Categories of funding available to local authorities |
Amount of funding provided (€ inc. VAT)2016 |
Amount of funding provided (€ inc. VAT)2017 |
|
Warmth and Wellbeing Pilot Scheme – free energy efficiency home upgrades |
€0.5m (72 homes upgraded) |
€6.5m (360 homes upgraded) |
|
Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme – grant funding for residential energy efficiency projects* |
|
€0.86m (First year of the pilot and focused on building capacity in the market for deep retrofit and building the pipeline of projects for 2018. Spend relates to completed and partially completed homes, grant support for project management was also provided). |
|
Better Energy Communities – grant funding for energy efficiency projects |
€16.7m (37 community projects awarded funding covering 385 community and commercial buildings and 2,013 homes) |
€22.7m (44 community projects awarded funding covering 491 community and commercial buildings and 1,965 homes) |
|
Funding for Tyres Historic Stockpiles Clean up |
N/A |
€323,371 |
|
Regional Waste Management Planning Offices |
€327,788 (Environment Fund) |
€410,000 (Environment Fund) €953,490 (Vote) |
|
Local Authority Enforcement Measures Grant Scheme |
€7,316,946 |
€7,228,403 |
|
Anti-Dumping Initiative Grant Scheme
|
N/A
|
€1,256,705
|
|
Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority Offices Operational Costs
|
€859,380 |
€879,646 |
|
Waste Enforcement Initiatives |
€48,223 |
€286,665 |
|
Biodegradable Waste Strategy |
€250,000 |
€200,000 |
|
One Day Collections of Small Scale Quantities of Hazardous Waste Grant Scheme |
€73,943 |
€100,000 |
|
Recoupment of clean-up costs associated with illegal diesel laundering |
€1,020,563 |
€224,213 |
|
North/South Waste Repatriation |
€481,580 |
N/A |
|
Landfill Remediation |
€6,723,159 |
€5,267,842 |
|
Local Agenda 21/Local Environmental Partnership Fund (LA21) |
€388,646 |
€441,815 |
|
Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Scheme (ALAGS) |
€684,840 |
€865,071 |
|
Protecting Uplands and Rural Environments (PURE) |
€89,147 |
€114,800 |
|
Geopark grant Clare County Council |
€25,000 |
€25,000 |
|
Geopark grant Waterford County Council |
€25,000 |
€25,000 |
549. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress that has been made on the roll-out of additional monitoring sites for air pollution (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43739/18]
View answerAmbient air quality monitoring in Ireland is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the 2008 Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) Directive (Directive 2008/50/EC) and the Fourth Daughter Directive (Directive 2004/107/EC of 15 December 2004). These Directives also include rules on how Member States should monitor, assess and manage ambient air quality.
Under the Directives, EU Member States must designate "zones" for the purpose of managing air quality. For Ireland, four zones were defined in the Air Quality Standards Regulations, 2011. The zones in place in Ireland in 2017 are Zone A: the Dublin conurbation; Zone B: the Cork conurbation; Zone C: comprising 23 large towns in Ireland with a population of more than 15,000; and Zone D: the remaining area of Ireland. Ireland currently has a nationwide network of 33 monitoring stations which measure levels of air pollutants in the four zones. This information is delivered to the public in near real-time at www.airquality.epa.ie. The numbers and locations of the monitoring equipment for each pollutant are determined by the requirements of the Directives for ambient air monitoring in each zone.
Following a review by the Environmental Protection Agency of air quality monitoring and information provision in Ireland, a decision was taken to develop a new Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (AAMP) which aims to enhance and build on current arrangements. One of the key objectives of the programme is to enhance the provision of real time air quality data to the public. The AAMP will more than double the capacity of ambient air quality monitoring in Ireland by 2022, and enhance the provision of real time air quality data to the public. My Department has committed funding of some €5 million over the lifetime of the programme.
The new programme is progressing well. Of the 39 stations in this phase, 10 were due to be completed by the end of this year and 8 of these are now active. These are at Roscommon, Enniscorthy, St Anne's Park in Dublin, University College Cork, Dundalk, Carlow (town), Malin Head and Carnsore Point. A further 15 stations are planned in 2019 and 14 in 2020. In addition, a number of station upgrades are underway, and to date upgrades have been made to stations at Heatherton Park in Cork, Castlebar, Kilkenny (city), Finglas, Marino, Phoenix Park, Ballyfermot, Davitt Road and Ringsend.
The locations of the monitoring stations are determined by the EPA in line with the provisions of the relevant Directives.
Further details on the monitoring programme can be found at the following website: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/air/quality/epanationalambientprogramme.html
550. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a group of self-catering houses operated by the one owner can be treated as one unit for television licence purposes; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that having to pay a television licence for each house is a substantial burden on owners in view of the fact that in many instances occupancy of such accommodation may only amount to the equivalent of four months of the year (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43783/18]
View answerCurrently, only one class of TV licence exists and this covers any number of devices so long as they are all in the same property (residential or commercial).
In accordance with Section 142 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, any premises at which a television is located requires a TV Licence regardless of its use. Therefore, owners and controlling management companies of all holiday home accommodation premises which include a television set, are required to purchase a separate TV Licence for each accommodation unit.
551. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43799/18]
View answerMy views on the Private Members Motion referred to by the Deputy will be outlined in detail in the debate on the Private Members Motion, which has been scheduled for discussion on Tuesday 23 October.
552. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of premises connected to and premises passed with high speed broadband, respectively, in each of the years 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and the percentage of total premises this represents. [43847/18]
View answerThe Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. The NBP is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment and a State intervention.
Over the past 5 years, the NBP has driven commercial investment in the upgrade and expansion of networks to the tune of some €2.75 billion.
There are 2.3m premises in the country. In 2012 less than 700,000 (30%) of all premises had access to high speed broadband through commercial operators. When this Government came into office in 2016 1.2m (52%) had access to high speed broadband. Today 1.7m (74%) of premises can access this service.
My Department does not receive detailed information on connections to premises from industry, other than those related to eir’s ongoing commercial deployment. This is due to its obligations as part of a Commitment Agreement signed with my Department in April 2017 to provide high speed broadband to some 300,000 premises. According to the latest figures supplied to my Department by the company, some 37,000 premises have been connected to the new network.
The Commission for Communications Regulation, Comreg, publishes a quarterly key data report on the telecommunications industry in Ireland. The Q2 2018 report contains information on connections which may be of interest to the Deputy: https://www.comreg.ie/publication/quarterly-key-data-report-q2-2018/
553. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the capital funding allocated for the national broadband plan in budgets 2013 to 2019; the projected allocation for capital expenditure for the national broadband plan in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43857/18]
View answer554. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funding allocated for the national broadband plan in budgets in each of the years 2013 to 2019; the projected allocation for current expenditure for the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43858/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 553 and 554 together.
Capital allocation for the NBP in each year from 2013 to 2018 is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
NBP Capital Allocation |
|
2013 |
€0.5M |
|
2014 |
€1.3M |
|
2015 |
€4.1M |
|
2016 |
€10M |
|
2017 |
€15M |
|
2018 |
€15M |
There was no current funding allocation.
With regard to the capital budget for 2019, funding for the NBP will be provided from within the overall funding envelope of €87 million for the Communications Programme in Budget 2019, with individual programme allocations still to be finalised and published in the Revised Estimates for Public Services.
555. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funds set aside for the completion of the national broadband plan to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43859/18]
View answerThe Government allocated an initial €275 million in the Capital Plan published in September 2015, for the initial years of the network build-out for the National Broadband Plan State intervention. The €275m represented an initial stimulus, in the knowledge that significant further funding will be required over the lifetime of the proposed 25 year contract.
In addition, the European Regional Development Fund has committed €75 million funds to the NBP State led intervention as part of its 2014-2020 Operational Programme.
The total State subsidy to be allocated to the NBP State-led Intervention will be determined on completion of the procurement process.
556. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funds spent on the national broadband plan from its announcement in 2013 to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43860/18]
View answerExpenditure on the National Broadband Plan was first incurred in 2013.
The total expenditure to date since then is approximately €22.2 million. This expenditure includes the cost of corporate finance and economic advice, technical support and network design, the cost of legal advice, environmental advice and process auditor costs. These services were procured by way of competitive tender.
In addition, the Department also has staff and other administrative costs, along with travel and expenses costs for the independent Steering Group members and event costs related to the NBP. The following table sets out payments by year.
Table 1: NBP Total spend by Year
|
Year |
Cost |
|
2013 |
€394,507.01 |
|
2014 |
€681,326.58 |
|
2015 |
€2,978,462.99 |
|
2016 |
€2,345,659.49 |
|
2017 |
€10,050,457.78 |
|
2018 |
€5,745,111.99 |
|
TOTAL |
€22,195,525.84 |
All figures include VAT
The schedule of companies paid and services engaged by year is also attached.
A schedule of payments made to date on the NBP is set out in the following tables for each year, specifying the companies paid and the services engaged.
Table 2: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2013
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
PRISA Technologies Ltd T/A Prisa Consulting |
Technical, commercial, economic, financial and procurement advice |
€323,491.23 |
|
Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
Staff secondment |
€67,899.16 |
|
Word Perfect Translation Services Limited |
Translation services |
€3,116.62 |
|
TOTAL for 2013 |
€394,507.01 |
Table 3: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2014
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
AVC Ltd |
Audio visual services |
€2,257.05 |
|
Clever Cat Design |
Design and branding services |
€12,346.70 |
|
D4 Catering 4. U. |
Catering |
€231.08 |
|
Strategic Scout Ltd |
Steering Group costs |
€6,101.07 |
|
Kieran Clancy Photography |
Photography |
€346.86 |
|
Mason Hayes and Curran |
Legal advisory services |
€12,286.22 |
|
Mespil Hotel |
Steering Group costs |
€423.50 |
|
National Adult Literacy Agency Ltd ( NALA ) |
Literacy advisory services |
€854.29 |
|
Park Town Consulting |
Policy advisory services |
€6,089.25 |
|
PRISA Technologies Ltd T/A Prisa Consulting |
Technical, commercial, economic, financial and procurement advice |
€494,981.54 |
|
Consultant A (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Steering Group costs |
€4,195.07 |
|
Tony Harris Design |
Design services |
€2,324.70 |
|
Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
Staff secondment |
€109,417.11 |
|
Vilicom Engineering Ltd |
Technical advisory services |
€25,184.68 |
|
W1 Design |
Design services |
€4,287.46 |
|
TOTAL for 2014 |
€681,326.58 |
Table 4: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2015
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
Analysys Mason |
Technical advisory services |
€449,210.01 |
|
Buswells Hotel |
Steering Group costs |
€958.40 |
|
Café Sol |
Catering |
€434.02 |
|
Club Travel Ltd |
Travel costs |
€1,747.95 |
|
Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport |
Steering Group costs |
€100.65 |
|
Doyle Kent Planning Partnership Ltd |
Environmental advisory services |
€7,995.00 |
|
Dublin Chamber Of Commerce |
Steering Group costs |
€832.60 |
|
Strategic Scout Ltd |
Steering Group costs |
€15,997.32 |
|
Consultant B (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Process auditor for legal tender evaluation |
€4,458.75 |
|
KPMG |
Financial and procurement advisory services |
€729,831.57 |
|
Mason Hayes and Curran |
Legal advisory services |
€339,615.23 |
|
Mediavest Ltd |
Newspaper publication costs |
€4,646.89 |
|
Mespil Hotel |
Steering Group costs |
€922.00 |
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Economic and strategic advisory services |
€1,040,440.67 |
|
PRISA Technologies Ltd T/A Prisa Consulting |
Technical, commercial, economic, financial and procurement advice |
€302,020.35 |
|
Consultant A (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Steering Group costs |
€8,305.18 |
|
Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
Staff secondment |
€69,629.07 |
|
Vilicom Engineering Ltd |
Technical advisory services |
€1,317.33 |
|
TOTAL for 2015 |
€2,978,462.99 |
Table 5: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2016
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
Analysys Mason |
Technical advisory services |
€556,924.82 |
|
Club Travel Ltd |
Travel costs |
€422.48 |
|
Deloitte |
Tax and VAT advice |
€5,412.00 |
|
Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport |
Steering Group costs |
€441.91 |
|
Doggett Group |
Design and print services |
€4,314.84 |
|
Elaine Tohill Ltd T/A Press |
Catering - bidder dialogue |
€7,512.00 |
|
Here and Now Business Intelligence |
Communications advisory services |
€7,380.00 |
|
Hilton Dublin (Charlemont Hotels Group Ltd ) |
Meeting room hire |
€470.00 |
|
Strategic Scout Ltd |
Steering Group costs |
€591.15 |
|
KPMG |
Financial and procurement advisory services |
€513,409.38 |
|
KPMG |
Specialist personnel |
€585,206.33 |
|
Mason Hayes and Curran |
Legal advisory services |
€456,505.65 |
|
Pricewaterhouse Coopers |
Economic and strategic advisory services |
€143,145.58 |
|
PRISA Technologies Ltd T/A Prisa Consulting |
Technical, commercial, economic, financial and procurement advice |
€11,070.00 |
|
Public Affairs Ireland |
Training course |
€362.85 |
|
RPS Consulting Engineers |
Environmental advisory services |
€27,312.15 |
|
T Kilmartin & Sons |
Design and print services |
€178.35 |
|
The Irish Farmers Association |
National Ploughing Championships 2015 costs |
€25,000.00 |
|
TOTAL for 2016 |
€2,345,659.49 |
Table 5: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2017
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
Achilles Procurement Services |
Procurement advisory services |
€5,166.00 |
|
Analysys Mason |
Technical advisory services |
€1,302,540.54 |
|
Andrew Fox Photography |
Photography |
€450.00 |
|
Bernard Coyle Enterprises |
Event costs |
€1,353.00 |
|
Café Sol |
Catering |
€104.01 |
|
Club Travel Ltd |
Travel costs |
€38.94 |
|
Commerce Decisions Limited |
Tender evaluation tool |
€41,294.10 |
|
Deloitte |
Tax and VAT advice |
€16,236.00 |
|
Doggett Group |
Design and printing services |
€942.18 |
|
Elaine Tohill Ltd T/A Press |
Catering |
€5,602.80 |
|
Here and Now Business Intelligence |
Communications advisory services |
€5,904.00 |
|
Hilton Dublin (Charlemont Hotels Group Ltd ) |
Meeting room hire |
€1,282.00 |
|
Strategic Scout Ltd |
Steering Group costs |
€6,317.73 |
|
Consultant C (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Independent Chair costs |
€5,000.00 |
|
KPMG |
Financial and procurement advisory services |
€3,342,817.76 |
|
KPMG |
Specialist personnel |
€1,434,957.98 |
|
Consultant D (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Communications advisory services |
€4,305.00 |
|
Consultant E (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Procurement board costs |
€1,932.63 |
|
Mason Hayes and Curran |
Legal advisory services |
€3,003,411.09 |
|
Maxwell Photography |
Photography |
€499.38 |
|
Mespil Hotel |
Steering Group costs |
€109.65 |
|
Consultant F (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Independent Chair costs |
€3,546.90 |
|
Pembroke Hall Limited |
Meeting room hire |
€254.61 |
|
Peter Smyth Management Consultancy Ltd |
Process auditor costs |
€1,968.00 |
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Economic and strategic advisory services |
€759,926.73 |
|
Consultant A (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Steering Group costs |
€2,082.45 |
|
Quigg Golden |
Independent Chair costs |
€1,650.00 |
|
RPS Consulting Engineers |
Environmental advisory services |
€43,190.22 |
|
Shearwater Hotel |
Event costs |
€1,154.85 |
|
The Gap Partnership Ltd |
Specialist training |
€27,378.93 |
|
Think Media Limited |
Design and printing services |
€29,040.30 |
|
TOTAL for 2017 |
€10,050,457.78 |
Table 6: Schedule of NBP Payments in 2018 (to date)
|
Company/Payee Name |
Services Provided |
Cost |
|
Analysys Mason |
Technical advisory services |
€1,115,387.37 |
|
Bank of Ireland Visa (Department credit card) |
Administrative procurement process costs (PMO) |
€310.97 |
|
Club Travel Ltd |
Travel costs |
€1,493.96 |
|
Deloitte |
Tax and VAT advice |
€24,354.00 |
|
Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport |
Steering Group costs |
€250.50 |
|
Doggett Group |
Design and printing services |
€510.45 |
|
Elaine Tohill Ltd T/A Press |
Catering - bidder dialogue |
€849.00 |
|
Here and Now Business Intelligence |
Communications advisory services |
€16,236.00 |
|
Strategic Scout Ltd |
Steering Group costs |
€6,941.94 |
|
Consultant C (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Independent Chair costs |
€2,000.00 |
|
KPMG |
Financial and procurement advisory services |
€2,497,834.80 |
|
KPMG |
Specialist personnel |
€902,993.92 |
|
Marsh Ireland |
Insurance advice |
€11,531.25 |
|
Mason Hayes and Curran |
Legal advisory services |
€1,021,850.64 |
|
Mediavest Ltd |
Newspaper publication costs – public consultation |
€9,736.89 |
|
Consultant F (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Independent Chair costs |
€7,500.00 |
|
Pembroke Hall Limited |
Meeting room hire |
€444.22 |
|
Peter Smyth Management Consultancy Ltd |
Process auditor costs |
€7,872.00 |
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Economic and strategic advisory services |
€75,031.93 |
|
Consultant A (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Steering Group costs |
€4,264.20 |
|
Consultant G (Anonymized under GDPR) |
Telecommunications regulatory advice |
€6,150.00 |
|
Quigg Golden |
Independent Chair costs |
€602.70 |
|
RPS Consulting Engineers |
Environmental advisory services |
€30,965.25 |
|
TOTAL for 2018 |
€5,745,111.99 |
557. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if all of the seven airplanes (details supplied) on contract to the US military that were present at Shannon Airport on 10 October 2018 were in full compliance with stipulations that neither aircraft nor the US troops aboard were involved in military operations, military exercises or intelligence gathering. [43163/18]
View answer559. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that on 10 October 2018 no less than seven aircraft (details supplied) on contract to the US military were refuelled at Shannon Airport; and the number of US troops each plane carried. [43161/18]
View answer560. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if munitions of war permits were requested for the seven aircraft (details supplied) on contract to the US military that were present at Shannon Airport on 10 October 2018; and if so, the number of aircraft such permits were sought for. [43162/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 557, 559 and 560 together.
Shannon Airport has confirmed that five aircraft, registration numbers N207AX, N342AX, N351AX, N477AX and N819AX, landed in Shannon Airport on the 10th of October 2018.
These stops were classified as technical stops in accordance with the Second Freedom of the Air as allowed for by the 1944 International Air Services Transit Agreement. All of the aircraft listed above were granted exemptions to carry munitions of war by my Department in accordance with the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders, 1973 and 1989.
Shannon Airport has no records of aircraft with the registration numbers N225AX or N710CK being in Shannon Airport on the 10th of October 2018. My Department also has no records of applications for an exemption to carry munitions of war by these aircraft on the 10th of October 2018.
My Department is not in a position to supply the number of troops carried as passengers per flight.
Decisions whether to grant permission for the use of landing and refuelling facilities at Shannon Airport in respect of such aircraft take into account the views of other relevant government departments and are fully consistent with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality, as applied by successive Irish Governments for over 50 years.
558. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the funding for the proposed Narrow Water Bridge between County Louth and County Down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43171/18]
View answerAs indicated in response to Parliamentary Question No. 251 of 18 October 2018, the Fresh Start Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a review of the proposed Narrow Water Bridge project with a view to identifying options for its future development. A draft options paper has been prepared and is due to be the subject of further consultation with interested stakeholders before it is finalised.
When completed the options paper is due to be submitted for consideration by the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) when that body is reconvened.
Pending future decisions on the project, there is no specific allocation of funding for a Narrow Water Bridge scheme.
