Written Answers. - Departmental Expenditure.
Billy Timmins
Ceist:
163
Mr. Timmins
asked the
Minister for Public Enterprise
the amount of capital expenditure which was spend by her Department since July 1997 to 1 November 2001; the percentage of this which was spent in County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29275/01]
The total capital expenditure by my Department for July 1997 to date amounts to approximately £640 million – 813 million.
The following are details of the most significant items by sector. Since 1997, Exchequer capital investment in public transport was approximately £497 million – 631 million. A further allocation of £120 million – 152 million – will be spent by end 2001. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the expenditure on a county by county basis. However, the DART service improvements carried out between 1997 and 1999 cost approximately £10 million – 12.7 million – and by the end of 2001 approximately £2.5 million – 3.17 million – will have been spent on the upgrading of the railway track southwards to Rosslare. Bus Éireann have expended over £0.5 million – 0.63 million – on buses to improve the services in the Wicklow area. During summer 2000, additional services introduced on the Dublin-Wicklow route generated an increase of 30% in passenger numbers compared to 1999.
Over the period in question, my Department allocated £5 million – 6.35 million – in grant aid for capital improvement works and upgrades in facilities at the regional airports in Galway, Waterford, Sligo, Knock and Donegal. Of this amount, £1.779 million – 2.26 million – remains to be spent in relation to a runway extension at Galway airport, which is expected to be completed in the first half of next year. There was no expenditure in County Wicklow.
My Department, through the Irish Energy Centre, has incurred total capital expenditure of £5.5 million – 7 million – on energy efficiency projects from July 1997 to 1 November 2001. Of this total, 2.2% or £120,763 – 153,337 – was spent in County Wicklow. Some £2.842 million – 3.61 million – was also spent in the period in question under the EIOP renewable energy measure and £350,000 – 444,500 – under the INTERREG II programme. No capital expenditure was incurred in County Wicklow.
Capital Expenditure on Multimedia Developments amounted to £42.3 million – 53.71 million. None of this expenditure relates to County Wicklow.
Expenditure on broadband infrastructure amounted to £7.8 million – 9.9 million – of which £290,000 – 368,224 – was spent in County Wicklow.
The IT unit of my Department's capital expenditure from July 1997 to 1 November 2001 was £2.7 million – 3.43 million – of which approximately £3,000 – 3,809 – or 11% was spent in County Wicklow.
From July 1997 to 1 November 2001, the Geological Survey Ireland capital expenditure amounted to approximately £3.2 million – 4.1 million. None of this was directly invested in infrastructure in County Wicklow.
