I will give a summary of its contents for two or three minutes and members can then refer to the script themselves. Therefore, I will avoid going into enormous detail unless members wish me to do so. I will, however, circulate the text.
The roads budget for 2003 is €1.2 billion. It is worth noting that back in 1997 the figure was €290 million, so it has increased dramatically. There are 19 major schemes of which 13 will open to traffic this year, including the Drogheda bypass and the Cloghran, Balbriggan and Glen of the Downs bypasses. As members will have seen in the media recently, I have signed the contract for the Kilcock-Kinnegad bypass, which is a public-private partnership motorway. The Dundalk western bypass, the Cashel bypass and the Waterford bypass are all going ahead. There are 64 other schemes in design at the moment. The total investment over the first four years of the national development plan will be about €33.8 million, which is 13% higher than was envisaged.
There have been increases in the cost of the programme and I have taken action on that in recent times. Because of that, however, it is quite clear that the programme will take longer to implement than was originally intended when the NDP was put in place. The onset of recent announcements, particularly about the Kilcock-Kinnegad bypass and other deals which are coming to a conclusion - the Dundalk western bypass and the Waterford City and Fermoy bypasses - will increase the pace substantially. Investment in road maintenance at €54 million is going ahead.
The 2003 allocation for the Dublin Transportation Office comes to €40 million which, by and large, is to fund quality bus corridors, cycle networks and traffic cells, investment in computerised traffic signalling systems and parking information systems, as well as developing integrated land use and transport framework plans. Broadly speaking, that is where that €40 million for 2003 will go. It represents a substantial increase on the previous year.
There is a backlog of 130,000 driving tests, which compares to 65,000 at the end of 2002. Therefore, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people applying for driving tests. I am putting in place measures to decrease that backlog as quickly as possible. In addition, I will be bringing forward a range of measures concerning the rules for holding provisional and full driving licences.
Members will be aware that there has been an explosion in the number of taxis, in particular in Dublin City, from approximately 3,000 to 12,000 or 14,000, depending upon whether one takes Dublin or the country as a whole. In response to that increase, I have had a number of meetings with the interests involved. I have appointed an interim national taxi regulator who is the chairman of the commission. We are pressing ahead with paying out the funds as soon as possible to the taxi hardship panel to assist those who have suffered hardship because of deregulation. I have also committed myself to implementing fully any proposals that Mr. Jimmy Farrelly, the interim chairman, brings to me. He is in the middle of a round of meetings with taxi and hackney interests and will bring forward those proposals to me as soon as possible.
Members will be aware that we have made substantial advances in road safety with the introduction of the penalty points system, which has brought about approximately a 20% reduction in road deaths. I also want to warn against complacency because the system will require the full attention of the Garda Síochána and a bigger effort by the insurance industry. I acknowledge, however, the intention of the Hibernian Insurance Company, which has put forward a particular proposal to quote reduced premia from 1 November to drivers who have not incurred penalty points. I applaud the company for having made that proposal and I call on the rest of the industry to do the same.
On 1 June, I am proposing to add five penalty points to uninsured drivers' licences. I remind members that a penalty point offence of not wearing seat belts will be added from 1 July. I am having further discussions with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on that matter. The road safety strategy is a major priority of my Department and one in which I continue to take a strong personal interest. Apart from the human tragedy involved it feeds into health costs and investment issues.
Substantial investment is being made in public transport, with rail costs of approximately €400 million per annum. New buses have been acquired and new rail cars have been ordered, along with further investment being made in rail track. Since 1999, a total of €533 million has been spent on the rail safety programme. It is worth pointing out that in the last five years about €1 billion has been spent on railway investment. Looking forward to the next five years, that figure could rise to a further €2 billion, making a total of €3 billion over the ten-year period.
CIE's current subvention is still strongly supported by the taxpayer, and strong Exchequer subventions are still being made in all three CIE companies. Since 1997, the subvention to CIE has increased by 84%. Members of the committee will be aware that I am proposing to restructure CIE by dissolving the main company and establishing the three companies independently in order that they may offer competing services. I am also proposing to open the Dublin bus market to the extent of 25% in 2004, and to bring forward proposals of a similar nature for the rest of the country. An independent transport regulator will be in place to oversee new entrants to the industry and to ensure they have a level playing field.
I appeared before this committee recently to deal with rail safety and more work remains to be done to complete the Railway Safety Bill. I look forward to working with members of the committee, as well as Members of the Dáil and Seanad, on that legislation.
The Government is committed to providing greater autonomy for Shannon, Cork and Dublin airports. We are in the final stages of arriving at conclusions with regard to the Aer Rianta board and in the coming weeks the Government will be finalising its thinking in that area. Members will also be aware of the Government's proposals regarding the second terminal. There have been 13 expressions of interest, which are being examined by Paddy Mullarkey, the former Secretary General of the Department of Finance, and his expert group. He has concluded that it could be viable to proceed. The Government is considering the matter but no final decision has been made.
Members of the committee will be aware that substantial moneys continue to be put into regional airports. The aviation sector continues to be vulnerable to external shocks and it must be watched carefully. We are also examining the use of the red safety zones at airports.
