Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 24 Apr 1997

Vol. 478 No. 3

Written Answers. - Transport Initiatives.

Peadar Clohessy

Ceist:

10 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will give details of the recent EU Transport Council's decision to introduce supports for combined transport programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10860/97]

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. Dukes)

I am not aware of any recent decision by the EU Transport Council to introduce Community support for combined transport initiatives.

The Deputy may be referring to Council Regulation 543/97 of 17 March 1997, the purpose of which is to renew until 31 December 1997 subject to certain amendments, the terms of an earlier Council Regulation 1107/70 which expired at the end of 1995. The latter regulation sets out the legal framework within which member states are permitted to provide aid for transport by rail, road and inland waterway. Under the original regulation, member states were allowed to provide aid as a temporary measure to facilitate the development of combined transport through investment in infrastructure, transhipment facilities and dedicated transport equipment or through support for the operation of combined transport services in transit across Austria, Switzerland and the states of the former Yugoslavia. The new regulation does not introduce a system of EU support for combined transport measures. It is simply extends the terms of Council Regulation 1107/70 until the end of 1997, deletes the reference to Austria and modifies notification requirements in relation to such aid. These amendments have little practical relevance to Ireland.

A proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the granting of Community financial assistance for actions to promote combined goods transport is still under examination at Council. The proposal envisages, in effect, a new programme to run from 1997 to 2001 with a total budget of 35 million ECU. It builds on an existing programme called PACT, Pilot Actions of Combined Transport, the objective of which is to encourage increased use of combined transport through the provision of support for preliminary and feasibility studies and for the implementation of innovative measures.

As we welcome any measure which will enhance the competitiveness of transport operations given our peripherality and distance from the European market, Ireland is in favour of the proposed new regulation. Our aim is to ensure that the text of the regulation, as eventually adopted, will be such as to maximise the benefits of the measure from an Irish perspective.