Written Answers. - Departmental Expenditure.
Gerry Reynolds
Ceist:
118
Mr. G. Reynolds
asked the
Minister for Public Enterprise
the amount of capital expenditure on infrastructural projects by her Department in the BMW region since its establishment to date; the projects funded; the amount of capital expenditure on infrastructural projects in the rest of the country in the same timeframe; and the projects funded.
[7834/02]
AirportsUnder the airports measure of the national development plan, a total of €750,122.88 was paid out in 2001 to Galway, Knock and Sligo regional airports in the BMW region. This funding was in respect of safety related projects, such as fire rescue equipment and navigational aids. An amount of €55,138.49 was provided towards similar projects at Waterford Regional Airport in the same period.
Public TransportOver the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 it is envisaged that at least €250 million will be spent in the BMW region under the regional public transport programme and a total of €2.5 billion will be spent in the southern and eastern region. This includes €152 million on railway safety, €57 million on non-safety related railway improvements and almost €40.63 million on bus services in the BMW region. The breakdown for the rest of the country is €575 million for the regional public transport programme and more than €2 billion on public transport measures in the greater Dublin area. Overall, up to beginning of December 2001, almost €100 million has been spent on public transport projects in the BMW region and €650 million has been spent in the rest of the country under the above programme.
The main objectives of the investment are to: (1) upgrade the mainline rail infrastructure, rolling stock and facilities; (2) upgrade the suburban rail and DART network; (3) develop the light rail network; and (4) develop the bus services in Dublin and in the major provincial cities and towns and to develop and improve rural bus services.
These combined objectives will be achieved through mainline rail investment in safety and renewal; enhanced suburban rail services through increased capacity on the DART and outer suburban rail services; increased frequency of suburban rail services; introduction of the Luas ser vices in 2003; regional bus improvements – provincial cities, rural and main routes from and to Dublin; Dublin city bus improvements; ongoing fleet replacement and re-equipment by Bus Éireann and Bus Átha Cliath; and accessibility improvements to existing public transport infrastructure and facilities.
TelecommunicationsAn ongoing aspect of the work of my Department is to progress the establishment of public-private partnerships on telecommunications infrastructure. My Department has responsibility for the communications and e-commerce measure of the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The objective of the measure is to support the provision of advanced communications and e-commerce infrastructure in less developed areas of Ireland and to improve Ireland's position relative to advanced economies in terms of the information society. A provision of €200 million is available under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 to support this measure.
Projects specific to the BMW region are listed below.
Regional E-commerce Hubs – this project will develop four regional points of presence in the west – Carrick-on-Shannon, Sligo, Castlebar and Galway – offering a range of services, including web hosting, application services and telephony services. Expenditure in the BMW region to date: €314,237.
National Fibre Optic Network – linking major centres nationally. Expenditure in the BMW region to date: €708,033.
Longford Broadband Infrastructure – to provide Longford town with a broadband communications infrastructure. Expenditure in the BMW region to date: €100,194.30.
Projects in the rest of the country are listed below.
National Fibre Optic Network – linking major centres nationally. Expenditure in the region to date: €2,644,863.
South-west Cork Digital Link – a broadband fibre-optic network from Cork to Clonakilty, providing these areas with access to state of the art telecommunications services. Expenditure in the region to date: €712,058.
The sum of €76 million has been spent in 2001 and 2002 on property purchase and telecommunications infrastructure for the digital hub and MediaLab Europe projects located in the Liberties-Coombe area of Dublin.
Expenditure by Semi-State bodies – details of expenditure by the semi-State agencies under the aegis of my Department are a matter for the bodies themselves.
