Written Answers Nos. 275-284
275. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider a matter (details supplied) regarding a small public service vehicle licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38509/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including issues pertaining to SPSV licences, 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.
276. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to advance the Luas Lucan line project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38556/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraGiven the constraints on the public finances, a number of public transport projects, including the extension of the Luas to Lucan, were deferred under the Government's last Capital Plan published in November 2011. While we are making good strides in restoring the public finances, constraints still exist and it has not been possible to provide funding under the the new Capital Plan (2016-2021) for all of the projects that were deferred. The National Transport Authority (NTA), which has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), has recently published a draft Transport Strategy for the GDA covering the period 2016 to 2035. The draft strategy includes a review of the public transport requirements for the Lucan area and the N4 corridor. It envisages the development of an east-west Luas line, commencing in the residential areas of Lucan to the south of the N4 national road, and connecting into Dublin City Centre. Delivery of projects prioritised in the final GDA Strategy will be dependent on the availability of funding, including from non-Exchequer sources.
All stakeholders and the travelling public currently have an opportunity to submit their views on the proposals in the draft strategy, which is now available on the NTA website www.nationaltransport.ie.
277. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on matters (details supplied) regarding funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38597/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Sports Capital Programme, the first club referred to by the Deputy has been allocated grants totalling €854,473 in the years 2000 to 2015 inclusive. The second club referred to has not been grant aided under the Sports Capital Programme and is not registered on www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie . The Department has no record of this club ever applying for an SCP grant in its own name. All organisations that wish to make applications under future rounds of the Programme must first register online.
278. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the percentage of staff in his Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if there are training programmes in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision for other minority languages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38631/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt present 3.76% of staff in my Department are capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language. Training is made available by my Department for staff members who wish to improve their level of working Irish. At present there is very little demand for business in any other minority language and on the rare occasions where a request in a minority language arises they are dealt with on a case by case basis.
279. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has had discussions with the authorities in British Columbia, Canada regarding the exchange of driver licences; if he is aware of any plans to create such an agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38646/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraDriver licensing law in Ireland operates within a framework of EU law. As such, we have mutual exchange of driving licences with other EU Member States. In the case of non-EU States we can reach bilateral agreements. Reaching bilateral arrangements is not a straightforward matter. There needs to be detailed comparison of two driver licensing regimes by the authorities in both jurisdictions, so that each can be satisfied that the two are compatible. On the Irish side this task is undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), rather than by my Department.
For some time now, the RSA has been engaged in discussions on mutual recognition with the authorities in Canada. As Canada operates driver licensing at provincial rather than national level, this means reaching separate agreements with each of the ten Canadian provinces. To date, the RSA has finalised agreements with Ontario and Manitoba, and an agreement with Newfoundland & Labrador will come into effect in the near future.
The RSA continues to work towards agreements with the remaining Canadian provinces, including British Columbia. However, it is not possible at this stage to specify a date when this process is likely to be concluded.
280. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the transport improvements that are planned for the north side of Dublin in the next five years and ten years, respectively. [38650/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to refer the Deputy to the Capital Investment Plan 2016 - 2021 recently announced by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin. This is a large scale investment programme that will increase the State's infrastructure. It can be found on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reforms website at the following link http://www.per.gov.ie/en/capital-investment-plan-2016-2021/.
The recently published National Aviation Policy refers to the need to commence the process to develop a second parallel runway at Dublin Airport, as well as other infrastructure developments, to ensure that adequate runway capacity is available at the airport when it is needed. daa, which has statutory responsibility to operate, manage and develop the airport, is currently examining the various options regarding the delivery of such a runway.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) including Dublin's north side. The NTA recently published a draft Transport Strategy for the GDA (2016 - 2035) which provides a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the GDA for the next two decades including the new Metro North project which was recommended in the Fingal/North Dublin Transport Study carried out by the NTA and included in the Government's Capital Plan - 2016-2021. The first phase of a multi-phase DART expansion programme will also begin under the new Capital Plan, with the extension of the DART line from Malahide to Balbriggan in North Co. Dublin.
281. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding allocated by his Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; the names of these organisations; the funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38677/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy within ten working days.
282. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the position regarding hunting licences and the delay in persons (details supplied) being issued them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38526/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised that a deer hunting licence has recently issued to the applicant referred to by the Deputy. In overall terms, my Department has received over 4,500 applications for deer hunting licences to date in 2015, of which some 4,400 applications have now been processed. I understand that any delays arising have been substantially reduced.
283. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the percentage of staff in her Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if there are training programmes in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision for other minority languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38618/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra11% of the staff in my Department are capable of dealing with the public through Irish. My Department supports staff in improving their Irish language skills at all levels of proficiency and for example actively promotes the Certificate in Professional Irish, which is a part-time programme delivered by Gaelchultúr to help public sector employees provide a higher level of customer service through Irish. My Department does not have any specific provision for dealing with the public in languages other than Irish or English.
284. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding allocated by her Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; the names of these organisations; the funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38664/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll but two of the non-commercial semi-state bodies under the aegis of my Department - the National Concert Hall and the Chester Beatty Library - are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. As a company limited by guarantee, the National Concert Hall is required to produce Annual Accounts for audit in accordance with the Companies Acts. The Annual Reports and Accounts of the National Concert Hall are available on their website at https://www.nch.ie/Online/Corporate-Information. The National Concert Hall Bill, which is currently being considered by the Oireachtas, seeks to put the National Concert Hall on a statutory basis. If that Bill is enacted, the National Concert Hall would become subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Chester Beatty Library is a public charitable trust and as a registered charity is responsible to the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests. The Annual Reports and Accounts of the Chester Beatty Library are available on their website at http://www.cbl.ie/About-Us/The-Chester-Beatty-Library/Reports.aspx .
In common with the other National Cultural Institutions, the National Concert Hall and the Chester Beatty Library are required to submit copies of their Annual Reports and Accounts to my Department, which are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. They also engage in regular quarterly meetings with my officials to monitor progress against agreed objectives in the context of Annual Service Level Agreement entered into with my Department.
Details of funding provided to these bodies by my Department are published in the annual Revised Estimates Volumes and Appropriation Accounts. The annual allocations to these bodies since 2011 are summarised below.
|
Year |
Chester Beatty Library |
National Concert Hall |
|
2011 |
€2,579,000 |
€2,874,000 |
|
2012 |
€2,598,000 |
€2,627,000 |
|
2013 |
€2,411,000 |
€2,514,000 |
|
2014 |
€2,300,000 |
€2,300,000 |
|
2015 |
€2,400,000 |
€2,400,000 |
For completeness, I wish to point out that in addition to funding bodies that operate under its aegis, my Department also provides funding to many other organisations, including local authorities and community-based groups, under a variety of schemes that it administers. It would not be possible in the time available to provide the information sought by the Deputy in relation to such bodies. However, if the Deputy is interested in a particular organisation or set of organisations, I will endeavour to provide the relevant information in relation to any particular organisations he may wish to nominate.
