Martin Kenny
Question:3. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Transport to outline the funding structure for TII projects; how funding is drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43059/23]
View answerThursday, 5 October 2023
Questions (3)
Oral answers (13 contributions)
I wish to ask about the funding structure for Transport Infrastructure Ireland projects and how that funding is drawn down. The Minister will have seen the article this morning in the Irish Independent suggesting that the failure to invest in road projects could lead to up to 77 deaths in five years. It is a stark reminder that when projects are approved to be advanced, we need to advance them with scale and ambition and it needs to happen quickly. The structure we have at the moment is to do things on a phase-by-phase basis. When the Government gives funding for a project to begin, it has to wait for the next step and the next step and the next step. That is causing serious problems for Transport Infrastructure Ireland and for the engagement of contractors on many of these projects.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, as set out in the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015. The key element of TII’s funding structure for national roads is the provision of Exchequer grants by the Minister to both its current and capital expenditure as set out in section 24 of the Act. Capital expenditure grants are provided from my Department’s national development plan allocations and this year alone over €600 million has been allocated to TII for national roads. The national development plan sets out a detailed list of national roads projects and notes those projects are subject to further approvals and prioritisation in accordance with relevant commitments and strategies.
The Deputy is likely to be aware that section 19(2) of the Roads Act 1993 requires that TII works closely with the relevant road authority. Therefore, upon receipt of its overall allocation, TII in turn provides allocations to the local authorities in their role as the relevant road authority. In terms of the public spending code, TII is the approving authority and the local authority is the designated sponsoring agency. As part of its role as approving authority, TII monitors project delivery programmes and expenditure during the year in question in order to maximise delivery and spend across the programme. Once funding is put in place as part of the annual budget process, Exchequer funding is drawn down by TII through the submission of invoices to the Department of Transport on a regular basis. Robust procedures are in place to ensure that expenditure can be attributed to individual projects. Regular meetings take place between the Department and TII on the roads programme throughout the year.
I am aware of how the system works or in many cases does not work. It certainly does not work efficiently and appropriately. Since the change of government, there has been a change in how the Department of Transport allocates funding. It is very much done on a phase-by-phase basis. Only when one phase of a project is completed can it try to draw down the funding for the next phase. That is causing serious delays, complications and difficulties. I would like to get a clear commitment from the Minister that there will be a review of that particular policy so that when a road is designed and there is a commitment to its being built, the Government actually provides the funding not just to begin the process but to complete the process and get it moving at pace so that we can have safer roads for everyone to travel on particularly the users of heavy goods vehicles who really need to see these roads developed the length and breadth of the country as quickly as possible.
The Deputy is right that there was change with this Government - a change towards prioritisation of public transport which has not been there in the past and towards supporting active travel with all the benefits that brings. However, there is still very significant spending on roads. We have spent approximately €5 billion and that expenditure will continue. We are investing in roads primarily for road safety but also for a whole range of other benefits, including improving the public realm which we discussed on the last question. That is something we need to do. Of course, we will continually review that because the world is changing with even some of the cost bases increasing. For example, we have just recently agreed the progression of the road between Scramogue and Ballaghaderreen. The price almost doubled in the last two and a half years due to a variety of different factors. The answer to the Deputy's question is that, of course, we continually monitor, review, update and assess.
The national development plan has allocated a very significant €35 billion to transport. We have about €100 billion worth of projects in planning at various stages. There are further ones we will need to develop that are not on that programme's list. There must be some sort of honest assessment of the staging and likely delivery timelines of all those projects.
I appreciate that and I understand that there was a change in emphasis but that is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about a change in the mechanism allowing Transport Infrastructure Ireland to deliver these projects. It is finding that it is complicated by the phased system in place which is delaying the delivery of these roads. The Minister spoke about the increase in costs and the doubling of the cost of the Ballaghaderreen project. That will continue to happen if once the process of initiating getting the road built has happened, it cannot move it along at pace. Those projects are being delayed and those delays are leading to an increase in costs as well as a delay in the delivery of the project which can have a risk for the people who use the roads.
We clearly need a review of the mechanism and how the funds are being drawn down. The phased process in place now is hindering the possibility of delivering these roads at a reasonable speed and a better cost for the public. I appreciate what the Minister has said that there has been a change, but the change in that particular aspect has been negative for everyone concerned.
The change has not been negative because it has led to a dramatic increase in rural public transport, starting in Leitrim in the Deputy's own constituency. That was the first county where we started providing these new rural bus services.
We can discuss rural transport another day. This is the issue I am talking about.
Let the Minister reply, please.
Part of that €100 billion series of projects was the massive expansion in rural bus transport services. I could go on about the whole list of different projects we all want to build.
A possible 77 deaths.
No one wants to see delay and no one wants the higher costs that delay brings. I absolutely agree with the Deputy on that. However, we need to be honest and clear with people. The reason for delay in some projects is that we have a €100 billion ask and a €35 billion budget to spend. We cannot pretend to everyone that we will deliver all €100 billion when we only have seven years of this NDP remaining and only some €35 billion available. That is a mismatch that we cannot ignore and wish away and pretend it does not exist. We have to do everything on an orderly basis-----
But the roads the Minister has approved-----
-----where we particularly allocate the engineering and other resources such as planning and other skills to make sure we speed up and deliver at as low a cost as possible, as many projects as possible, and that is my priority.