Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 June 2014
591. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will list in tabular form all legislation and specific sections therein which refer to powers delegated to the Minister of State with special responsibility for public and commuter transport; if he will detail the titles of the civil servants who report directly to said Minister of State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24619/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been no statutory delegation of functions to Minister of State Kelly and therefore there are no legislative powers for which he has direct responsibility. However, after my appointment in 2011, I allocated Ministerial responsibilities internally within my Department to both Minister of State Kelly and Minister of State Ring. These allocations were not done on a statutory basis.
In the case of Minister of State Kelly, I agreed to consult with him on all decisions on CIE, its subsidiaries and the NTA. I also allocated Minister of State Kelly lead responsibility for:
- Real Time Passenger Information and Integrated Ticketing;
- Rural Transport policy including the pursuit of integration with other local transport services (school, HSE, LITs, voluntary groups and Cross Border Community Transport) in line with Programme for Government commitments;
- Implementation of the recommendations of review of taxi regulation and organisation of the Taxi Forum in line with Programme for Government commitments;
- Prioritisation of the NTA Advisory Council's activities and attendance where necessary;
- the National Sustainable Transport Office;
- Smarter Travel Initiatives;
- Integration of land use planning strategies with transport strategies;
- Promotion of cycling and walking and workplace travel planning, including the rollout of the city bike schemes as per the Programme for Government;
- Accessibility issues in public transport; and the Railway Safety Commission.
The Assistant Secretaries and heads of function with responsibility for these sustainability, public and commuter transport functions within the Department report directly to the Minister of State in relation to the above responsibilities as do the staff of his private office.
