Written Answers Nos. 224-237
224. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on reopening the compensation scheme for drift-net salmon fishermen, who did not avail of the scheme when it was in operation, in view of the fact that only a very small number of persons are involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22791/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Salmon Hardship Scheme was introduced following a decision in 2006 to cease, for conservation reasons, the commercial salmon mixed stock fishery in the sea.
In excess of €25m was allocated to the scheme to facilitate payments to fishermen with a further €5m provided for community development projects. Under the scheme fishermen active in the fishery could opt to voluntarily cease fishing in the commercial drift net and draft net sectors and undertake not to seek a licence in the future.
Payments to individuals were based on verifiable track record and recorded catches in the five years prior to its introduction. I am advised that the average payment under the scheme was almost €23,000 and the highest payment was over €195,000.
The scheme closed for applications on 31 December 2007 and ceased in 2008 and I understand that all funds were expended and there are currently no plans to revisit such a scheme.
225. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the discussions he has had to date with Bord na Móna regarding its restructuring plans and its implications for permanent and seasonal employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22849/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe matter raised by the Deputy is an operational one for Bord na Móna. The company faces significant business challenges in the context of the deregulated electricity market and increasingly competitive and challenging environments across all its business areas.
I understand that in order to ensure its continued success, the company is implementing a programme to transform all areas of its operations and structure, the key objective of which is to improve business effectiveness and efficiency. In that regard, management and union representatives are currently involved in discussions under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission on a range of issues including areas related to the terms and conditions of employees. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on this matter while these discussions are in progress.
As a matter of routine, I regularly meet with the Chair and management of the company on a range of policy issues.
226. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in view of growing evidence which confirms no decrease in the number of eels, when he will rescind the eel fishing ban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22859/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe latest advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in 2014 states that “The status of eel remains critical and ICES advises that all anthropogenic mortality (e.g. recreational and commercial fishing, hydropower, pumping stations, and pollution) affecting production and escapement of silver eels should be reduced to – or kept as close to – zero as possible. The annual recruitment to Europe has increased over the last 3 years from 5% to 12% of historic levels, however, recruitment is still well below the reference levels of 1960-1979 and there is no change in the status of the eel as being critically endangered”.
Ireland's Eel Management Plan (EMP) was accepted by the EU in 2009 under the EU Eel regulation 1100/2007.
The plan outlined the following main management actions aimed at reducing eel mortality and increasing silver eel escapement to the sea:
- a cessation of the commercial eel fishery and closure of the market;
- mitigation of the impact of hydropower installations;
- ensure upstream migration of juvenile eel at barriers; and
- an improvement of water quality.
The overall requirement and objective is to provide, with high probability, a long-term 40% escapement to the sea of the biomass of silver eel, relative to pristine conditions (i.e. if the stock had been completely free of man-made influences including commercial fishing).
Ireland's EMP was reviewed in 2012 including a comprehensive scientific assessment of eel stocks nationally and the review included a robust public consultation process. A similar public consultation process is currently underway as part of the 2015 review and stakeholders have the opportunity to make written submissions up to the closing date of 17 June. To assist the consultation process a number of documents have been made publically available:
- The activity report of the statutorily independent Standing Scientific Committee on Eels;
- IFI's three year monitoring report 2012 to 2014; and
- Ireland's Eel Regulation Report to the EU 2015.
The documents are intended to stimulate an exchange of views within the public consultation for the 2015 review during which it is expected that a range of issues will be raised and considered.
I intend to make the full details of the outputs of the public consultation available when this process concludes. Similar reviews are being carried out across EU Member States as the eel stock has radically declined throughout Europe.
227. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to the recent announcement in relation to the rural broadband scheme, his plans for broadband for the Hackballscross area in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22883/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services with approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next two years. These very significant investments represent a step-change in the quality of broadband services available.
Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. This map is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas that will have access to commercial high speed broadband services by end 2016 and includes Hackballscross, Co Louth.
The AMBER area shows the target areas for the State intervention. All premises within the AMBER areas will be included in the State's intervention. Last week eircom announced an investment that may address a further 300,000 premises with fibre-to-the-premises technology. My Department will be rigorously examining the assurances from eircom in relation to these new plans, which is a requirement for all operators, and will review how this impacts the proposed intervention area.
More generally I can confirm that next generation broadband services have been rolled out to 43,963 premises to date in Co Louth with a further 1,052 expected to be served over the next 18 months. The remaining 15,129 premises in Co Louth will be covered by commercial investment or be the target for the proposed State intervention under the National Broadband Plan.
Intensive design and planning work is underway in my Department to produce a detailed intervention strategy for the AMBER area. Following a public consultation process on the draft Intervention Strategy this summer, I hope to move to formal procurement phase towards the end of this year in order to select a preferred bidder or bidders.
I expect the physical build of the network to begin in late 2016, and it will take between three and five years to fully complete – depending on the details of the bid or bids selected.
This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government and aims to conclusively address current broadband connectivity issues in mainly rural parts of the country.
228. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the annual cost of introducing a living wage or minimal-threshold gross salary of €11.45 an hour in his Department and the bodies under his aegis. [23489/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department currently has 7 employees who earn less than €11.45 gross per hour. If a minimum wage of €11.45 were introduced, it would present an additional cost of €20,541.41 gross per annum to my Department. The salaries paid to employees of the bodies under the aegis of my Department are generally matters for those bodies.
229. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding the Football Association of Ireland has been given in grants by the State, in each of the years 2008 to 2014; and if the association was required to submit its accounts in order to draw down any funding that was provided. [22718/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrent expenditure grants to the FAI from my Department's Vote are allocated by the Irish Sports Council. The Council, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the promotion, development and co-ordination of sport, including the allocation of funding for the National Governing Bodies of Sport and associated governance procedures.
Insofar as it relates to current expenditure grants by the Irish Sports Council, I have referred the Deputy's question to the Council for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to inform my office if a reply on that element of his question is not received within 10 days.
Under the Sports Capital Programme the FAI received allocations from the Department for equipment in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 of €400,000, €500,000, €220,000 and €360,000 respectively, totalling €1,480,000. The terms and conditions of the SCP do not include a requirement for grantees to submit their accounts in order to draw down allocations, but include other requirements including the submission of three quotations, paid invoices, proof of payment of invoices in the form of bank statements, and tax clearance certificates for the grantees and the suppliers.
230. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an explanation for the delay in the publication of Bus Éireann's 2015 annual accounts, as they appear to be over two months overdue; and if this indicates more financial difficulties for Bus Éireann. [22726/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies each commercial State body should publish (or where publication is not required, submit to the Government ) its annual report and accounts not later than four months after the end of the relevant financial year. CIE audited financial statements for 2014 , which are the consolidated accounts for CIE including Bus Eireann activities, were received in my Department on 30th April 2015.
Following subsequent submission of the CIE audited financial statements to Government, the CIE accounts and Bus Eireann accounts were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 26th May and 29th May respectively.
Bus Eireann's finances had no bearing on the publication timetable.
231. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on revising the green vinyl branding that it is obligatory for taxi drivers to display on their vehicles in order to reduce the number of attacks and burglaries on both their vehicles and their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22739/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including issues related to signage and branding, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.
I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.
232. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding motor insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22792/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMotor insurance costs as measured by the CSO, and available from the CSO StatBank, have increased by 4% from January to March 2015, but motor insurance costs in March 2015 still remain almost 15% below the prevailing level in 2003.
While I am concerned with the recent trend towards increasing motor insurance costs, motor insurance is provided by private companies in an open and competitive market and the setting of motor insurance prices is a matter for the industry and I have no role in the regulation of insurers.
Consumers are encouraged to seek quotes and compare costs at the time of insurance renewal and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (www.ccpc.ie) publishes information to assist consumers in purchasing motor insurance.
233. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the current status of the M7 upgrade project; the projected cost; the projected timeline for completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22884/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, as Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects such as the Naas Bypass widening is a matter in the first instance for the NRA in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act.
Owing to the national financial position, there have been very large reductions in roads expenditure in recent years. The reality is that the available funds do not match the amount of work that needs to be done to maintain existing road infrastructure or address demands for new road improvement projects. Funding in 2008 was €2.3 billion while funding this year is around €730 million for the national, regional and local road network. Unfortunately, the current financial realities are such that the budgets proposed for my Department for 2016 and 2017 indicate that capital funding will continue to be very tight, and my ability to progress new projects and PPPs is limited.
I acknowledge it is important to restore over time capital funding for the transport sector to ensure that infrastructure is maintained but, as of now, I am not in a position to give a commitment in regard to funding of an upgrade of the M7 although I acknowledge the national and local importance of the project.
234. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the level of State subsidy to the public transport sector, broken down by company in aggregate since 2008; the measure his Department utilises to establish the inflation rate in the transport sector; the rate in each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22887/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2010 there is no subvention paid directly by my Department for public transport services. The award of Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts falls under the independent statutory remit of the National Transport Authority (NTA), which has direct responsibility for this area. The total Public Service Obligation (PSO) subvention provided to the CIE companies in the years 2008 to 2014 is set out in the following table.
Schedule of Exchequer Subvention to CIÉ: 2008 to 2014
|
Year |
Iarnród Éireann |
Bus Éireann |
Bus Átha Cliath |
Holding Company |
TOTAL |
|
€000 |
€000 |
€000 |
€000 |
€000 |
|
|
2008 |
181,152 |
41,846 |
85,629 |
- |
308,627 |
|
2009 |
170,624 |
49,365 |
83,199 |
- |
303,188 |
|
2010 |
155,137 |
45,039 |
75,682 |
- |
275,858 |
|
2011 |
148,689 |
43,410 |
73,042 |
- |
265,141 |
|
2012 |
166,412 |
36,882 |
74,766 |
- |
278,060* |
|
2013 |
126,888 |
34,476 |
64,902 |
- |
226,266 |
|
2014 |
117,409* |
31,899 |
60,054 |
- |
209,362 |
*Included in this amount is €10.66m paid to Iarnrod Eireann under the Infrastructure Manager Multi Annual Contract (IMMAC).
As regards inflation, transport is one of twelve categories used by the CSO to calculate the Consumer Price Index. The transport index is reviewed monthly by the CSO and is based on the cost of vehicles, the operating costs of personal transport equipment and the costs of transport services. In terms of the relevant NTA contracts with operators, the NTA adopt a methodology for contract prices and indexation. I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA to provide more detailed information. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
235. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who holds a current Irish international and Ukrainian driver's licence has recently been informed that he must undertake a certificate of professional competence test despite having driver's licences for more than 20 years, nationally and internationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22896/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile I cannot comment on individual cases, as a matter of law, the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) is an EU-wide system of qualification for professional drivers, and is a requirement for professional drivers of trucks and buses. It exists in addition to and separate from a driving licence. In order to drive a truck or bus professionally, an individual must have both a driving licence and a CPC. The objective of introducing such a certificate is to set and maintain high standards of road safety, health and safety and driving among professional drivers of buses and trucks.
The Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) is issued in Ireland by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
236. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on the work of the committee she has established to advise her on Ireland's historic houses; its membership; its date of establishment; the advice it has provided to her in relation to historic houses in County Wicklow, including Russborough House and its contents, which are in trust for the people of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22836/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has established an Irish Historic Houses Steering Group, the objectives of which is to advise me with regard to strategies to support the sustainable future of larger Irish historic houses, in particular with regard to the complexities of balancing private ownership with public benefit, and to ascertain if existing supports provided by various government Departments, local government, State agencies or non-governmental organisations can be better co-ordinated in order to better support the owners who are the custodians of these properties.
With this in mind and in collaboration with the Irish Historic Houses Association (IHHA), my Department convened a steering group in February of this year, which comprised of owners or their representatives, stakeholders in government Departments and agencies, including heritage organisations active in the sector, to meet on four occasions between March and June to advise my Department in relation to sustainable futures for these houses.
It is expected that a short action plan with recommendations and associated actions will be the outcome of this process. The objectives of a final action plan will be to assist historic houses in general in terms with the on-going protection, management and promotion of these important architectural heritage assets into the future. Given the terms of reference of the steering group, no actions are being considered for individual houses or specific cases. A brief outline of the steering group membership is set out.
Members of the Steering Group for Irish Historic Houses Committee 2015
Co-Chairs:
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Irish Historic Houses Association (IHHA)
Representatives from
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2)
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Tourism Division)
Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (Community division)
Revenue Commissioners (S.482 tax relief unit)
Heritage Council
Local authority representative
Irish Heritage Trust
Irish Georgian Society
Irish Landmark Trust
IHHA nominees (3)
Fáilte Ireland representative
Representative individual house owners (4)
237. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual cost of introducing a living wage or minimal-threshold gross salary of €11.45 an hour in her Department and the bodies under her aegis. [23488/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised that, based on current staffing levels, the estimated additional annual cost of introducing a minimum rate of pay as described by the Deputy, for staff employed in my Department and those bodies under its aegis, would be in the order of €160,000.
