Vol. 969 No. 3
1. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the negotiations with regard to pay equalisation; the timeline for negotiations to conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21727/18]
As the Minister knows, in our confidence and supply arrangement we insisted on a public pay commission to respond with recommendations following analysis of costs associated with pay equalisation, especially for new entrants since 2011. We recognise that the Government has finally committed to a pathway to deal with this process. It is a matter for the Minister to consider also the recommendations of the commission on issues and difficulties with recruitment and retention of staff, particularly in the health service, health consultants and the Air Corps. When does the Minister expect the commission to conclude its work? When will he be able to make recommendations to the Cabinet on foot of that, notwithstanding the issues relating to prudence over the associated economic cost? Now that the cost has been established, will the process be put in place?
I thank the Deputy for the question. I look forward to working with him during what I am sure will be a very exciting period in the run-up to many things in the coming months.
The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, provided that an examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of those recruited after January 2011 at entry grades would be undertaken within 12 months of the commencement of the agreement. Additionally, as the Deputy is aware, the Government accepted an amendment to section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, that within three months of the passing of the Act, I would prepare and lay before the Oireachtas a report on the cost of and a plan to deal with pay equalisation for new entrants to the public service. This was a significant body of work delivered through the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service, which collected, collated and examined the data, and provided detailed point-in-time costs associated with the measure.
I submitted a report to the Oireachtas on 16 March. It showed that there has been strong recruitment since 2011 to the 237 recruitment grades across the public service, with more than 60,500 new entrants hired, representing 19% of the public service. This includes more than 16,000 teachers, nearly 5,000 special needs assistants and almost 10,000 nurses.
Graduates entering the public service today do so on a competitive salary. For example, a teacher recruited in 2018 will start on just under €36,000. This will rise under the current public service stability agreement to nearly €38,000 by 2020. Across the labour market as a whole, the average starting salary for graduates is €28,554, with 40% earning less than €25,000.
Discussions on this issue with public service trade unions and representative associations commenced in October, with a further meeting on 27 April. Further engagement is being arranged for early June as the parties continue to work through the various aspects of this issue.
I thank the Minister for his good wishes. I apologise for my voice this morning. Before the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, or anybody else starts tweeting, I wish to point out I have a sore throat. I ask the Minister to bear with me.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Notwithstanding the catastrophic scandal involving the HSE, CervicalCheck and the Department of Health, it was refreshing to hear some of the victims of that scandal speak highly about the nursing and other front-line staff in their dealings with them in very trying circumstances in recent times.
I raised this issue with the Minister last week during Questions on Promised Legislation. We are into the first year of the pay deal to which the Minister referred. There is an understanding on the part of the INMO, for example, that the recommendations of the pay commission on difficulties with recruitment and retention in its field would be adopted by Government and would kick in during the second year of the three-year deal. I am led to believe that has been clarified in correspondence from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Will the Minister confirm that is the case? Will he confirm that nurses, midwives, hospital consultants and personnel in the Air Corps, as part of the recommendations of the pay commission in response to the challenge that has been placed upon them, will be making recommendations to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and that Government will have a responsibility under the pay agreement signed and agreed last year for implementation in year two of the three-year deal?
The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 provides for €887 million in additional pay restoration and increases. The agreement makes clear that the responsibilities that are upon me are to set up the public service pay commission, which was set up before the agreement - I did that - and to support the pay commission in submitting a report to Government during the second quarter. I understand it will report towards the end of June and then into early July. The subsequent Government response will be the subject of negotiation between the Government and representative bodies.
If the Deputy asks me to commit that a particular issue be dealt with in advance of engagement on the matter, all of the other bodies with concerns or needs over the pay agreement will ask why I am not prioritising them. I am happy to commit to the terms of the public service stability agreement negotiation being implemented by me.
Work is under way on pay equality, an issue on which I have answered the Deputy. We are dealing with the demands for so-called pay equality by those in the representative bodies, while parallel work is under way by the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment within the health service.
I acknowledge the ongoing negotiations on the inequality issue and the Government's commitment to resolving it. I accept that there is a pathway for it to be carried through. However, the pay commission was charged with an initial and primary responsibility which was related to recruitment and retention issues and the associated difficulties in the health service. There is an acknowledgement on the part of the Government that this is its job of work. There was a further acknowledgment in the Minister's reply that he would look at the recommendations that emanated from it and enter into discussions on them in good faith thereafter. That is merely what we are seeking at this juncture. We acknowledge, of course, the constraints and the fiscal rules which have to be adhered to. As we said during the negotiations which led to the confidence and supply arrangement, however, it is imperative that the commission be provided with the terms of reference to which we have alluded, namely, that there are issues surrounding recruitment and retention. The Government must acknowledge the need for a pathway to deal with these issues, notwithstanding the difficulties which may emerge by virtue of the difference of opinion on the agreement in place, as I have outlined, for the INMO.
I will not comment on any potential agreement or disagreement. We have an agreement that is laid out in text and the Government and I are honouring everything laid out in it. Work is under way on the issue of new entrant pay and I have updated the House on some key points in that regard. The Public Service Pay Commission is engaged on the issue in the context of recruitment and retention within the health service. I will deal with all of the issues that emerge from both processes when they are complete. However, I emphasise to the House that we cannot say, on the one hand, that we need to ensure the public finances are managed in a stable way and that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past, while telling ourselves, on the other, that we can meet every individual demand. We will not be able to meet the needs of every group with which we are engaging. We have a public service pay agreement for three years and it is in year one. We are committed to engaging with everyone in good faith, but if we are saying we need to keep the public finances stable and ensure we can afford to meet the commitments we have made, we have to understand there are responsibilities which come with that. I am committed to discharging those responsibilities, as I am sure the Deputy is too.
2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which he is building capacity within the Civil Service and the public service and ensuring access to adequate information in pursuit of developing policy proofing within the budgetary process as a means of advancing equality as outlined in the public service report 2017. [21726/18]
How is the Minister building capacity within the Civil Service and the public service to ensure there is access to adequate information to pursue equality proofing in future budgets as outlined by the Government in the public service report for 2017?
The ongoing work on equality budgeting in Ireland follows the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to "develop the process of budget and policy proofing as a means of advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights". Following this programme for Government commitment and in order to facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of budget measures on household living standards, my Department has undertaken initial work in the area of social impact assessment. The social impact assessment framework is defined as an evidence-based methodology which attempts to assess the impact of policy on households' financial positions. The objective of the framework is to broaden the scope of current practice to take account not only of tax and social welfare measures but also of how changes in public expenditure policy can impact on household outcomes and living standards. By doing so it may in the future be possible to compare the distributional impact of changes to various types of public service spending and the implications for household outcomes.
Following the announcement on budget day in October 2017, alongside the publication of the paper Equality Budgeting: Proposed Next Steps in Ireland, a pilot programme of equality budgeting for the 2018 budgetary cycle is under way, anchored in the existing performance budgeting framework. For this first cycle of equality budgeting, a number of policy areas have been selected, including making childcare more affordable to reduce barriers to women's participation in the labour market and increasing female participation in apprenticeships. Associated objectives and indicators were published in the Revised Estimates Volume last December and progress towards achieving these targets has been reported in the public service performance report for 2017 which we published just last month.
I thank the Minister for his response and remind him that the Government's economic evaluation service recognised in the 2017 report that the budget was something more than a neutral process of resource allocation, that rather it was a value-laden process which embodied and potentially informed and influenced long-standing societal change in how resources were deployed. Those in our society with disabilities have for far too long fallen behind in the budgetary process and must now be placed at the centre of any future budget. In its discussion on disability proofing of budgets, the Irish Wheelchair Association has asked that 10% of all new builds be wheelchair accessible, not just visitable. What mechanisms is the Government putting in place to ensure future budgets will safeguard equal access to housing for those with disabilities?
Responsibility for matters related to how we support citizens with a disability lies with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who regularly challenges all Departments, including my own, to look at how we can meet their needs. As to how we are seeking to advance the broad equality budgeting agenda, my Department is engaging with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the National Women's Council of Ireland, both of which have broadly supported the initiative we have under way. I am attempting to establish an equality budgeting steering group which will consist of stakeholders and policy experts to look at how we can advance the initiative. What is crucial for me is identifying particular policy areas which are appropriate to deepen equality budgeting and track them in the way we have tracked many other indicators for many years.
I am aware of the Minister of State's responsibility, but that was not the issue I was raising. Technical guidance document M - on access and use - of the building regulations 2010 stipulates that all new builds must guarantee circulation within dwellings for disabled persons. Will the Government ensure compliance with the regulations within the private housing market and, if not, why not? What provisions can it put in place to ensure compliance to safeguard access to housing for disabled persons? The regulations do not apply to buildings constructed prior to 1992 and that has clear implications for those with disabilities and their access to housing. When the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government was contacted to provide information on the proportion of buildings built prior to 1992 within the housing market and compliance with the regulations, none could be provided for us. Given the importance of these data in any disability proofing of future budgets, how can the Government ensure adequate fact-finding mechanisms are in place to ensure equality proofing will be a process which will deliver rather than deceive? Will the Minister provide the resources in order that we can actually disability-proof budgets?
I am committed to increasing resources to deal with such issues. I have engaged with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, on this area in two successive budgets. The issues of detail the Deputy raises are, however, matters for the Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. I will contact him to see if I can get answers to the issues raised by the Deputy.
3. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council was consulted on the growth projections and the money committed in relation to the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21728/18]
We welcome the investment committed to in the national development plan.
The sum of €91 billion in Exchequer expenditure up to 2027 is most welcome. However, it is a ten-year programme based on projections such as, for example, a 4% annual growth rate from 2022 to 2027. The Government seeks the advice of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council annually on projections for budgetary measures made by the Department of Finance. Was similar advice sought from the same body on these projections and investment over a ten-year period?
The figure the Deputy mentioned is not correct. For the latter half of the plan, the assumption underpinning the national development plan is 2% growth per year. We deliberately reduced our growth forecast for the second half of the ten-year plan in recognition of the fact that it was more difficult to forecast that far ahead into the future in view of the many risks, of which the Deputy is aware.
Regarding engagement with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, the council assesses macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts published by the Department of Finance twice a year - in the stability programme update and the budget. While the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was not required to consult the IFAC on the national development plan, the council stated in its fiscal assessment report of November 2017:
Public investment levels are expected to ramp up quite rapidly again, rising to levels that are among the highest in the EU under current plans ... Across all measures, this would be higher than present levels for countries such as France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK as well as for the EU and euro area aggregates. Importantly, this is possible while still complying with the fiscal rules in later years.
It went on to state:
A commitment to stick to a specified level of public investment as a share of GNI* would be a sensible basis for fiscal policy over the medium term. If adhered to, this approach could help to prevent forced cuts to public investment in downturns and excessive expansions in investment during booms.
We consult the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council when we are required to do so and it has offered a broad understanding of what we are seeking to do with the increase in investment levels in the economy. It is good to hear this being welcomed by the Deputy.
To clarify, there is a 2% growth rate, as the Minister says, and a 2% inflation rate. That amounts to a total of 4%. The Minister is saying the council was not specifically asked or consulted prior to publication of the national development plan. What provision was made for potential Brexit implications? Do the projections take cognisance of the reports on Brexit of the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Department of Finance or even the Copenhagen report on Brexit?
The Deputy referred to a growth rate of 4%. When we are considering growth rates in the economy so far into the future, we strip out the impact of inflation. The trend growth rate we have used for the second half of the plan is 2%.
It is 2% plus 2%.
The Deputy further asked whether we had been cognisant of the Copenhagen papers and how we had taken account of Brexit. I will make two points in that regard. The best response we can put in place to the period of uncertainty the economy could enter if the Brexit process becomes even more difficult is to increase capital investment across the period. That is what we are doing. We are seeking to increase capital investment next year by one quarter above the current position at the precise point the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union. That is the appropriate response to something that will pose challenges for the economy. On the question of its affordability, the plan was affordable on the basis of growth figures for next year that have since been increased again on the assumption that it is possible for the United Kingdom and the European Union to reach a transitional agreement. The plan is affordable and is the type of response we should have when an open economy is entering a period of uncertainty.
The Minister's reference to Brexit and its potential implications for the economy and our ability to meet the demands of the plan is based on an assumption that there will be a transitional agreement that will not have a detrimental effect on the provisions he has made for capital expenditure under the plan. He says increasing capital expenditure by 25% will be sufficient to meet the demands of the plan over ten years. That is fine. I would have no problem with that if it were the case that the various bodies that produced these reports and the severe sectoral implications outlined in the Copehagen report, for example, could be referred to in the plan to ensure there is a safety net in place to guarantee the commitments made by the Government with regard to capital expenditure. That expenditure is badly needed and I accept the Minister's commitment to it in the face of Brexit, but there must be more openness and greater transparency on such reports which are very informative and, in some cases, alarming. There must be reference points associated with the national development plan to ensure the commitment to it, notwithstanding the effects a hard Brexit would have on the economy.
That is all contained in the Project Ireland 2040 strategy and the associated documents that were published. They lay out how we believe the plan is affordable. With regard to having a safety net, the best response in entering a period in which the economy could face further uncertainty is to make use of the levers we can fully influence. Increasing investment in higher and further education and public transport and increasing housing supply are things we have to do, but they are even more necessary if an open economy is facing a period of heightened uncertainty. All of the related economic assumptions were laid out when we published Project Ireland 2040. The implementation board that will oversee the plan has now met and engaged on how we will be able to prioritise projects and make them happen. Furthermore, we will soon have a meeting of a construction sector working group to examine how we can make use of all of the resources available in the economy to deliver projects in a phased and affordable manner.
4. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the areas of reform his Department is prioritising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21978/18]
This is to ask the Minister the position on his Department prioritising cost saving initiatives in the interests of better financial prudence and scarce resources being spent wisely.
In December 2017 I launched Our Public Service 2020, the new framework for development and innovation in the public service. The new reform framework focuses on supporting sustainable, continuous progress across the public service. Our Public Service 2020 has three priority pillars: delivering for the public, innovating for our future and developing people and organisations. There are 18 actions which include new initiatives and actions focused on building on reforms already in place. We are also moving the focus of reform to achieving outcomes that will have a positive impact on the public. With this goal in mind, my Department has established a reform evaluation unit to focus on monitoring and evaluating the outcomes of reform, as well as creating greater links between expenditure and reform.
A strengthened model of governance is being put in place to oversee implementation of the actions in Our Public Service 2020 with the establishment of a new public service leadership board. The board includes Secretary General-CEO level participation drawn from the Civil Service and a broad range of public service organisations.
In the Civil Service the next phase of implementation of renewal will aim to deepen and embed renewal and also consolidate and implement current programmes. Other priority actions for 2018 include work to strengthen policy making; improve the delivery of shared whole-of-government projects; and support the development of a national data infrastructure.
The Government continues to pursue a legislative agenda in this area. The Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, is working on the Public Sector Standards Bill and the data sharing and governance Bill.
My Department is also leading on Ireland's open data initiative, which is a key part of the public service reform agenda. We want to be a leader in open data and create an environment in which the economic, social and democratic benefits of open data are recognised and realised.
The public service performance report for 2017 states the aim is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public expenditure by linking the funding of public sector organisations to the results they deliver. That is vital. It is a very useful exercise and one we all support in terms of promoting positive reform. In the section of the report dealing with local authority funding for housing from the Department, it is stated that €387.7 million was provided. In addition, €98.3 million was provided through the local property tax. It is stated self-funding was used by local authorities to support the delivery of housing problems. What has been delivered despite all the expenditure? I suggest there was very little.
As noted, the purpose of the public service performance exercise was to determine how we can improve the effectiveness of the delivery of services. As far as I can see, no progress has been made in this area. While the reviews and practices continue aplenty, there is nothing happening on the ground. That is the problem. It is blatantly obvious in housing in that we are not getting housing delivered in Tipperary or anywhere else.
The Deputy is wrong on that. We are increasing resources for local authorities to ensure public housing commitments can be delivered upon. We expect local authorities to deliver on housing targets with the resources that have been made available to them.
The Deputy referred to Tipperary, which he knows far better than I do. If I look to progress made in Dublin, I note that only yesterday we were able to confirm that the first phase of the long-promised project at O'Devaney Gardens, a huge public housing project, will be under way very soon. I have seen many such examples throughout the country. It is an essential element of how we have to respond to all the considerable housing challenges we face.
I did not say the Government was not giving enough money. It is giving plenty of money and there have been plenty of reviews, but nothing is being delivered. While the reviews and practices continue aplenty in the Department, nothing seems to change. There are poor outcomes. That is what I said. I did not say the Government was not giving the money. The houses are not being built. The authorities are saying they are not getting the money. The Minister met our county manager, Mr. Joe McGrath, recently and I hope he asked about this. Eleven houses were built in Tipperary in five and a half years. It beggars belief so far into the housing crisis. We were able to build hundreds of houses back in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. What has gone wrong? There have been reviews and reports, reports and reviews, consultants and tenders moving the whole thing around. At least Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, goes out on the ground and demands to see what has been done. He questions the Office of Public Works, OPW, on value for money. It is all money and nothing being delivered. There has been review after review. The Government keeps throwing the same thing at the problem and does not seem to learn. No wonder we have crises in health and every other area. The Government is inept at running Departments.
We have had a very significant development that Deputy Mattie McGrath has confirmed and acknowledged, namely, that we have increased resources for housing.
I did not say the Government had not.
It is great to see that acknowledgement here today.
What good is money if one cannot build anything?
When I was in Tipperary, I met the local authority representatives that afternoon. It was at the end of a very positive day.
Positive? In the Minister's mind.
I could see many different businesses and people who were involved in-----
Campaigning.
Please, let us be orderly.
-----the community and economy in Tipperary. They were pointing to the progress that is being made. When I met the chief executive of the local authority, he pointed to the fact that not enough housing had been delivered, as the Deputy rightly said. He also took me through the plans funded by the Government to increase local housing supply, however. We want to and will ensure local authorities are accountable for delivering more homes with the higher level of resources that the Deputy has acknowledged here today.
No homes to be found.
5. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the role of his Department in drafting the European climate and energy plan for Ireland by the end of 2018. [21979/18]
In the late 1950s, this country completely transformed from a closed economic system to an open, international one. Mr. Lemass was in power at the time. Mr. Whitaker, the Secretary General of the Department for which the Minister is now responsible, led that. We are now in a similar moment in history in that we need to change our entire economic model from an unsustainable one to a sustainable one. The climate and energy plan we have to present to the European Union under the Paris climate agreement is surely the chance to do what Mr. Whitaker did in the report he wrote in the 1950s. This is the opportunity to think that big and differently and change everything. What are the plans of the Government? What is the role of the Minister's Department in this new climate and energy plan that we have to present to the European Union by the end of the year?
My Department's role is broadly to deliver well-managed and well-targeted public spending. When it comes to climate change, this means ensuring we respond in the best way to climate transition in our country.
EU countries have agreed on a 2030 framework for climate and energy, including new EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period 2021 to 2030. These targets will be underpinned by a new regulation on the governance of the energy union. This regulation will provide for the creation of integrated national energy and climate plans by each member state. The regulation is the subject of an ongoing trilogue process between the Commission, Council and Parliament which is expected to conclude later this year. Until this point, the targets, policy objectives and timelines are subject to revision.
The development of Ireland's national energy and climate plan is, in the first instance, a responsibility of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. My Department is working closely with the Department of that Minister, Deputy Naughten, through the structures that have been established to co-ordinate Government activity on climate change. There is a high-level steering committee on climate action, chaired by the Minister, Deputy Naughten, and a technical research and modelling group that provides expert advice and support. My Department is represented on both.
Preparation of the plan is at an early stage but its development will be facilitated by the work under way to complete the national mitigation plan and the recently published national development plan. The latter, in particular, represents a step change in Government commitment to climate change, with €21.8 billion in funding directed to addressing the transition to a low-carbon society. This capital investment will lead to a significant reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions over the period to 2030.
The current plans will not do it. They are not ambitious enough and we have not grasped the opportunity that exists. The plans do not reflect the ability and willingness of the Irish to make the leap to a cleaner, sustainable economy. At a meeting of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport yesterday, Transport Infrastructure Ireland made a presentation. It is still doing the exact same thing it was doing, namely, trying to tackle Dublin's congestion problems by building a wider ring of motorways around the city.
In the area of forestry, we should be thinking really big. We should be thinking about a massive, native rainforest that would be a store for carbon and part of the Wild Atlantic Way. It would create 30,000 jobs. The Minister should be thinking about an area of 20,000 ha.
On our sea area, we should be going back to Europe saying we will listen to E. O. Wilson, the great biologist, and set aside half our waters for conservation, protection and research on what is happening in the North Atlantic as everything changes. That would be accepted in Europe as reflecting the scale of ambition, leadership and vision required.
It is time to shift our thinking to see this as a bold project where we can lead rather than one in which we are trying to resist change, which is what I sense happening.
I see this as a major opportunity. I want the Irish people and Government to play a role in responding. The Deputy can always point, very legitimately, to areas in which we could make improvements and operate differently, but alongside that, let us recognise what is contained in Ireland 2040, the national development plan. There is a commitment to retrofitting 45,000 homes each year and delivering energy upgrades to all public buildings and a minimum of one third of commercial buildings. At least half a million electric vehicles are to be introduced by 2030. The plan also refers to transitioning to a low-emission urban public bus fleet, with no diesel buses being purchased from 1 July. From 2030 onwards, fossil fuel cars will not be allowed to be sold in Ireland.
From 2045 no national car test, NCT, certificates will be issued for these cars. I am in the final stages of agreeing with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, a new climate action fund to be established that will have an allocation of €500,000. Maybe the particular matters referred to by the Deputy could be funded through this plan. That is in addition to the very comprehensive public transport plan contained in Project Ireland 2040.
If we are to get real, we will heed the comments from the National Transport Authority in yesterday's committee. Its representatives conceded we do not have the resources for that bus network and most of our best engineers are stuck doing outer urban and inter-urban motorways, adding to the congestion problem rather than addressing this major problem that we have to introduce cycling facilities and buses in our cities. Nothing is happening in that regard and the budget fell 40% in the past year. That is the reality. Similarly, if we are serious about electric vehicles, let us start on our car park outside and put in 20 or 50 charging points. Let us do the same in every supermarket and public car park to show we are for real.
We have all these plans but the reality is our emissions are rising in every sector at speed. The Taoiseach recognised that we are climate laggards but it is not the people who are climate laggards; it is our administrative system. We need to change the political and administrative system here to live up to the promise that exists for the Irish people in this transition.
The National Transport Authority indicated to me that with the further development of the bus network, for example, there is funding available.
It does not have the staff for it.
I am not aware of what it said about cycling infrastructure but I take the Deputy's comments in good faith. I want to see our cycling infrastructure improve beyond where it is. I look at plans under way for the new greenway linking the north inner city, for example, to Castleknock and beyond as an example of the kind of investment now happening that the Green Party has sought for so long. If there is an issue with staffing and engineers in particular not being available to do the work, as the Deputy mentioned, I will engage with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on that. I have made the capital funding available to try to make these projects a reality. I know we will not be able to respond to climate change obligations if we continue to organise transport like we do in Ireland currently. I am working very hard to provide the additional funding to ensure that agenda can be delivered.
