Vol. 646 No. 1
104 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport if he will establish a register for certain small craft which would, as the Revenue Commissioners have suggested to his Department, be of considerable benefit to Revenue in controlling coastal smuggling, particularly drug smuggling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3872/08]
The Mercantile Marine Act 1955 sets out the requirements for registering vessels in Ireland. Irish-owned vessels over 15 net tons are required to be registered under the Act. However, for vessels under 15 net tons, registration is voluntary and owners may register such a craft if they so wish. Small leisure craft would fall into this category.
The 1955 Act and the system of registration in Ireland are under review in my Department. The comments received during an earlier consultation exercise are being taken into account in the deliberations on a proposed new regime. One of the issues being considered is how best to improve provision for the registration of leisure craft, including jet skis and other small craft.
The Revenue Commissioners have indicated their support for a revision of the current system of registration. Following completion of the current phase of the review, they will be consulted, with other relevant parties, on new outline proposals to replace the existing regime. It is intended that this consultation process will commence in March. My officials will continue to develop more detailed proposals for the revision of the existing registration system, taking into account the outcome of the public consultation, with a view to submitting proposals for new legislation to Government by the end of the year.
I thank the Minister for his reply. The then Department responsible for the marine proposed in 2005 that there would be a register for certain small craft. The Revenue Commissioners wrote to the Minister's Department last October stating they were deeply concerned about this issue and referring to coastal smuggling, in particular drug smuggling. Deputies Flanagan and Ring will deal with the drug aspects of this issue for my party.
As I understand it, Revenue has just one boat with which to police drug smugglers and much of its work is based on intelligence it receives. We are not talking about small power boats or rowing boats but about craft with the capacity to operate some distance out to sea. Is it not the case that the drug seizures made represent the tip of the iceberg? We welcome the seizures made in Cork last year but if all the craft capable of smuggling drugs are not registered and if the Minister does not act in line with the proposal made by his Department almost four years ago, we will not get to grips with the problem.
The process of change is under way at present. As is the nature with all such issues, it is necessary to have consultations, otherwise one would be accused of acting in a unilateral manner. When the consultation process is complete, proposals will be put forward in line with the Deputy's request. Following that, it will be necessary to put legislation in place.
When drafting legislation of this nature, we must ensure, in line with the point made by the Deputy, that we do not end up in a situation where rowing boats, jet skis and so on are also caught by the measures. It is a question of keeping a balance.
We expect that all the consultations will be complete and the draft legislation in place by the end of the year. I believe it will meet the Deputy's requirements.
I reiterate that it is four long years since this proposal was made by the Minister's Department. I do not accept the Department or the Minister are dealing effectively with this issue. The country is awash with drugs. It is predicted internationally that we are seizing less than 20% of the drugs that come into the country. Given the nature of the west and south coasts, drugs are being brought in via the coastline and spread throughout Europe. It is a serious issue and the Revenue Commissioners are very anxious in this regard.
I am not happy with the Minister's response, which is inadequate in view of the seriousness of the issue and the drugs crisis, particularly with regard to cocaine. People are dying on the streets of Dublin because of cocaine and gangsters are being murdered on the Costa del Sol as a result of the profits being made. The Minister's response is too laid back and not good enough. We do not accept he is doing his job properly.
We are only three minutes in and already I am not doing my job properly. It usually takes a few minutes longer than that.
The Minister has been in office for ten years in different capacities. He is not doing his job at all.
I have been in this job for approximately eight months. As I said to the Deputy, this matter is in hand and legislation will be put in place. Revenue may have only one vessel patrolling our coasts but the Naval Service patrols the coast and is used to assist in this area. It is doing an excellent job.
It has more to do with salmon than drugs.
I would not like to send out signals to drug smugglers that we only have one boat to look after the coast of Ireland.
105 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport if he has been reviewing proposals for the introduction of a congestion charge in Dublin; if he has absolutely ruled out the introduction of a congestion charge in this regard pending the delivery of key Transport 21 projects for Dublin; his views on the value of congestion charges for dealing with problems of congestion; his evaluation of the quality bus corridor network roll-out; the proposals he will being forward in 2008 to reduce the volume of cars passing through the Dublin canal cordon in the morning peak period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3525/08]
Though specific proposals for the introduction of congestion charging are not being considered at the moment, the National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012 states that consideration will be given to the potential introduction of fiscal measures, including road pricing or congestion charging, to reduce transport demand, once adequate supply-side infrastructure is in place.
Congestion charges can incentivise the shift from personal car transport and have been successfully adopted in, for example, London and Stockholm. On its introduction, the London congestion charge reduced congestion by 30% and traffic levels by 18% with a positive net annual revenue. Similarly, the Stockholm congestion charge resulted in weekday traffic falling by 22% and a reduction of 12% in emissions. That was introduced initially on a trial basis and was later adopted following a public referendum.
The success of these schemes is partly due to the availability of public transport alternatives and democratic consensus, following public awareness campaigns. Various types of charge are feasible, including cordon charges and area licences. Technological development provides the means for more sophisticated and targeted pricing schemes.
It is too early to say what, if any, fiscal measures are needed in Ireland. The Government is committed to delivering a sustainable travel and transport action plan this year and I hope to initiate an intensive public consultation process on the issues in the near future. The question of congestion reduction and measures in regard to restricting traffic volumes in Dublin city centre will be explored in more detail during that process.
My Department is in the course of completing a value for money and policy review of the DTO traffic management scheme, which is the basis for the funding of the quality bus corridor, QBC, programme. I will lay the review before the Oireachtas in the coming weeks. This review will inform future decisions on the roll-out of the QBC programme under Transport 21, which contains a target of completing or advancing work on 14 QBCs and bus lanes in the greater Dublin area by year-end in the interest of making public transport more attractive to reduce the use of the private car in the city centre area.
Last week at the Committee of Public Accounts, the Dublin city manager, Mr. John Tierney, seemed to refer to imminent congestion charges with regard to the big dig for the development of the Luas and metro. Has the Minister received any firm proposal from the city manager or Dr. John Lynch of CIE, who referred to congestion charges in the past? I note the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transport, Deputy Frank Fahey, was reported in The Sunday Business Post as being, with the Government, in favour of introducing congestion charges at an early date.
The Minister referred to London and Stockholm. Milan, Singapore and Manhattan in New York are also heading in the same direction. The one factor all these cities have which Dublin does not have is a multifaceted public transport system. Surely it is pointless to discuss congestion charges given the huge deficit in public transport under Transport 21.
Have long-range costings been made by the Department with regard to congestion charges or the carbon emissions that could be avoided? If there were to be charges, is it an ambition of the Government to make them self-financing? Will this be a cornerstone of any charge?
The Minister stated there would be consultation on this matter. When will it begin and who will be involved? In Edinburgh and Stockholm the people were asked by referendum whether they wanted a congestion charge. In Stockholm, the city area said "yes" but all the suburbs said "no", and the Swedish Government went ahead. Edinburgh said "no". Will people in Dublin or elsewhere be consulted when congestion charges or other road levies are proposed?
The Deputy has posed a range of specific questions as to what may or may not happen, but this matter has not been given detailed consideration in my Department. While I am not avoiding the question, I cannot say how much it might cost or whether it will be revenue neutral or self-financing. The issue has not been dealt with in that kind of detail, although it has been mentioned in the national climate change strategy and in a previous DTO study, both of which are available in the Department. To my knowledge, however, we have not received any specific proposals on this matter from Dublin City Council or Dr. John Lynch of CIE. The Deputy's point is well taken, it is not reasonable to talk about congestion charges when no alternative is in place. However, we must see this in the context of all that will occur in Dublin city centre in the coming years. Dublin City Council is examining a plan to manage traffic in central Dublin, which will have a major effect further out. That will obviously require a large number of buses and that is being examined as part of the traffic management plan.
As regards consultation on the sustainable travel and transport action plan, in the next two to three weeks I hope to have that discussion document available. We will have a couple of months in which to discuss that publicly. The issue will be raised in that document and people will have an opportunity to make their views known.
As regards the powers of local authorities in this regard, will the Minister be publishing the Dublin transport authority Bill anytime soon? He told us we would have it in January. Will powers to impose road levies be included in such a Bill when it appears?
The Deputy will be pleased to know that I expect to publish the DTA Bill in the course of this month and we will then be able to discuss it.
Will the Minister announce it directly to the Dáil?
I am announcing now that it will be available before the end of the month.
He announced it before.
106 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport his plans in relation to the reduction of carbon emissions from the transport sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3873/08]
A number of measures relating to transport are included in the climate change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These include rebalancing of motor taxes, mineral oil tax relief for biofuels, a modal shift through Transport 21 and the achievement of a 5.75% biofuels blend in fuels by 2010. In all, the transport sector will provide up to 13% in total national emission savings under that strategy. Further details of the strategy are available on the website of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government at www.environ.ie.
Meanwhile, the Government is committed to delivering a sustainable travel and transport action plan this year and I hope to initiate an intensive public consultation process on the issues in the near future. The question of emissions reduction for transport will be explored in more detail during that process.
Since 1990, when we first began talking about Kyoto, transport emissions have increased 165%, which is a massive growth. I know we have experienced economic growth in that time but cars and heavy duty vehicles are the biggest offenders in this regard. In 2006, the last year for which we have statistics, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 682,000 tonnes over the 2005 figure. The Minister's climate change strategy, which was proposed by the Green Party as the greatest thing since the sliced pan, will save 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. While I welcome that saving, it represents only one thirteenth of the reduction we need to achieve.
The Deputy is correct in stating that greenhouse gas emissions from transport increased 165%, from just over 5.17 megatonnes in 2005 to 13.72 megatonne equivalents in 2006. As the Deputy rightly said also, however, those figures are a consequence of our economic success. So many people are now staying in Ireland, whereas when I started out in politics people were emigrating. We have experienced huge growth in the economy and as a result, rather than barely having one car, people now have two or three cars per household. All these factors of our economic prosperity have given rise to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government is aware that if we continue at the current rate we could be 265% above the 1990 emissions. Everyone in this House has bought into cutting those emission rates. The sustainable transport and travel plan to which I referred is designed to examine those matters. In the discussion document, we have tried to outline frankly and fully where we are going as regards transport sector emissions. It is not a pretty sight from the viewpoint of health and quality of life, particularly for city dwellers. Measures will have to be taken and some of them will not be palatable for everyone but those issues must be faced and I look forward to having the Deputy's support in doing so.
The most important thing the Government could do would be to introduce the Dublin transport authority Bill. Because we do not have that legislation there are turf wars between Iarnród Éireann and the Railway Procurement Agency, while commuters suffer. The Minister is right in saying that people are buying cars due to modern economic wealth but public transport has not kept pace with demand. The key issue is that we do not have effective public transport initiatives or adequate park-and-ride facilities, while the Luas and metro projects are hit by delays. Most of all, no one is in charge. The Minister has refused to accept responsibility for Dublin's traffic chaos. One of my questions was refused today because the Minister said it was a matter for somebody else. It is a matter for the Minister, however, but he is not dealing with it. That is why our transport emissions are so high and why people are queuing up in cars. The Minister has no regard for the 100,000 motorists who are stuck on the M50, that wonderful parking lot, every day. He refused to intervene to get a proper plan to deal with public transport, getting cars off the road and reducing emissions.
It never fails to amaze me how powerful Deputy O'Dowd thinks I should be in this job.
It is a question of how weak the Minister is.
The DTA will not stop people buying cars.
It plans new routes.
If economic prosperity continues, people will continue to buy cars. We have a plan in place called Transport 21 and it is being implemented despite what Deputy O'Dowd says. We are moving ahead with all the public transport infrastructure, including metro north and the Luas lines, so progress is being made. However, we cannot just wave magic wands and produce new Luas or metro lines overnight. The Transport 21 programme is a ten-year plan up to 2015, which will provide additional public transport, but it cannot be done overnight. Neither I, Deputy O'Dowd nor anyone else can do anything more about that. Traffic management on national roads is a matter for the NRA, while other roads are dealt with by local authorities. It is not a matter in which I can directly intervene, although through Transport 21 and other policies I try to make it as easy as possible for everybody to implement. No rows have delayed the provision of public transport. The RPA and CIE difficulties have been resolved and the public transport section of Transport 21 is proceeding. It is not going as quickly as I would like but it is still within the timeline.
107 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport his views on the calls from the Road Safety Authority to his Department to immediately introduce legislation to give powers to the Garda to seize disqualified drivers’ licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3874/08]
Driving while disqualified from doing so is deemed to be the same as driving without a licence. The Garda has powers under section 38 of the Road Traffic 1961 to deal with the offence of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place without holding a valid driving licence. A driver detected driving while disqualified can be summonsed to appear before the courts to answer that charge. Section 102 of the 1961 Act also provides for the penalties on summary conviction for an offence under section 38 of that Act. The maximum fine for first offence is €1,000; for a second or third offence-subsequent offence a fine not exceeding €2,000; and €2,000 for a third or subsequent offence, where committed within 12 consecutive months, and-or imprisonment to a term not exceeding three months at the discretion of the court.
Amendments to current legislation to permit seizure of licences is among a number of matters being considered by my officials in the context of the preparation of a road traffic Bill, which will be the subject of consultation with the Garda and my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
I welcome the Minister's intention to introduce legislation to deal with this issue, which was brought to his attention by the Road Safety Authority. The authority has complained that if a person with a fake driving licence is stopped by gardaí, they can request sight of the licence but cannot take it from him or her. If gardaí stop a motorist with a fake licence who is supposed to be off the road, they cannot take that licence either. Is it true that up to 1 November 2007, of the 121 drivers on 12 penalty points, who should be off the road, only 40 had handed in their licence to the local motor tax office, as required by law? This is a serious issue because these are dangerous, bad drivers.
Anybody who has accumulated 12 penalty points should not drive and he or she should surrender his or her licence. The legislation governing this is the direct responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and it states clearly if the driver is brought before a court, the licence must be handed into the court and the judge should so order. I am not sure whether that has happened in all cases. The Deputy is correct that anybody who accumulates 12 penalty points is disqualified automatically and his or her licence should be handed up. Some motorists are of the view that if they do not hand up their licence, they can still drive but that is not true. It would be no harm if a message was sent to these people that they could be in serious trouble with their insurance company if they drive with a disqualified licence. However, the matter was raised during the discussion on the graduated driving licences and it will be dealt with more explicitly in the proposed legislation.
Is it the case that gardaí are not equipped when they stop a motorist to investigate a number of issues and, for example, to establish whether he or she is disqualified? Computers in Garda cars should be linked in real time to a database containing such information or it should be accessible on the hand held devices gardaí use. One of the problems is I could be disqualified from driving but if I retain my licence, I could hire a car or purchase insurance legally and to all intents and purposes I could still be on the road. The key issue to be tackled is enabling the Garda to have access to a database containing this information so that members can establish whether a driver is disqualified or insured. The Motor Insurance Bureau estimates 100,000 people driving on our roads do not have car insurance. Is it the case that people use forged tax discs on their cars to pretend they have insurance? Will the legislation address these serious and important issues? If so, will the Garda be resourced accordingly?
The resourcing of the Garda is a matter for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I went to great pains on the day I announced the road safety strategy to point out the format of the strategy was stark and I felt strongly every agency should take its own responsibility in this regard. I take responsibility for the strategy and its implementation but everybody has bought into that and that is why agencies are identified for its implementation. I have enough on my hands trying to ensure a number of the targets are met. I will continue to ensure meetings are arranged between all the relevant agencies so that across the board matters are raised and targets are met. Each agency and Department is responsible for meeting its own targets. I am not being facetious but a number of the Deputy's questions could be directed to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
They have been addressed to the Minister in his statement of strategy regarding uninsured drivers. It is a matter for his Department of Transport and a submission in this regard has been published on its website.
108 Deputy Shane McEntee asked the Minister for Transport if he has plans to produce a safety audit of roads here to be carried out by the Road Safety Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3875/08]
I have stated previously in the House that I do not want to distract the Road Safety Authority from the important work it has in hand by directing it to produce safety audits of roads. I am satisfied with the role being played by the authority, as well as by local authorities and council engineering staff, in highlighting and improving roads where safety is an issue. Over the past five years, €2.583 billion has been allocated to local authorities by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and €7.175 billion to the National Roads Authority for national roads. As safety is a fundamental consideration in the provision and maintenance of our road network, this high level of investment is delivering a significant road safety dividend. In addition, more than €60 million has been spent on national roads and more than €17 million on non-national roads in implementing specific road safety measures over the past five years.
Among the specific measures undertaken to improve the safety of roads, my Department has augmented the powers of local authorities to impose special lower speed limits at road works sites; published a revised and updated edition of chapter 8 of the road signs manual covering temporary traffic measures and signs at road works and the deployment of signage and temporary traffic measures at such locations; regularly updated technical advice to local authorities as regards the correct use of surfacing materials when undertaking road pavement improvement works; and produced comprehensive new guidelines for the control and management of road works sites by local authorities.
These guidelines were developed under the aegis of the Local Government Management Services Board, LGMSB, with the assistance of my Department and the NRA. I am satisfied these new guidelines for control and management of road works sites represent best practice and they should address the main concerns which have been expressed by the Health and Safety Authority. Accordingly, my Department and the NRA have issued the new guidelines by way of circular letters to the local authorities for implementation with immediate effect.
I am 100% committed to road safety. Last weekend the terrible carnage on our roads was trying and I was tempted to issue a statement but it might have been picked up as being opportunistic. The Chairman of the RSA and the Minister referred to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the failure to acknowledge a letter. That was confirmed for me this morning. While I am glad Gay Byrne may address that issue, I would like to deal with the quality of our roads. It is nice to be able to confirm that the targets set out in June for driving licences are being met. I am delighted more for those involved on the ground than for ourselves or Department officials. I am aware that billions of euro have been spent but in the past three months our roads have turned into a nightmare. The campaign against drink driving is beginning to work but many of the accidents occur during the day. I sent an e-mail to all Fine Gael's Deputies to solicit their views on what might help to push the Government into prioritising the condition of our roads. I do not accept the proposal to reduce accidents by an average of 21 per month.
The Deputy should ask a question.
I merely want to make my point. I may be slow at times.
A question, please.
It will come to a question at the end of the day.
It should come speedily to a question. This is Question Time.
Is the Minister satisfied that our roads are in good condition? He is aware that what happened last night on the road to Trim in County Meath was the greatest embarrassment that could be experienced by any official. No Minister could be satisfied with the way our money is being spent on roads, which are a disgrace the length and breadth of the country. That is why we have to pick blackspots through our new road safety officer. How can the Minister say he is satisfied? We will experience failure by the end of the year. Eight people have been killed already this year, which is three more than the number last January. When I was first elected three years ago, I asked that an independent audit be carried out on all our roads but only 3% are audited by the NRA. Does the Minister agree it is time to transfer responsibility for roads from county managers to an independent person in each county so that young people can be safer?
Part of the road safety strategy is based on pursuing a number of different issues, with education, enforcement and engineering comprising three legs of a four-leg strategy. This concept includes improving roads and ensuring new roads are constructed to the safest possible standard. Specific moneys are available to deal with blackspots on existing non-national roads in each county. Our roads are far from perfect, however.
As Minister for the Environment in 1995, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle instituted the roads restoration programme, which everybody thought would be the bees knees.
I thought it a progressive move.
It was very progressive and all the moneys he promised were spent over the past decade. We are now into the second stage of the programme but difficulties remain on our roads. Regardless of what happens in the next ten or 20 years, we will always have difficulties on our roads. That is not to say we should be defeatist because we should target the funding. Local authorities have significant discretion on their non-national road allocations and we expect them to deal with the most dangerous spots.
