Priority Questions
1. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to address concerns regarding levels of traffic congestion in Dublin, and especially the knock-on congestion caused by blockages on the M50 motorway; if he is developing a strategic plan to deal with the traffic problems on the M50; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45446/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Minister is aware of the serious concerns among commuters and the business community in this city about the potential negative impact of congestion, in particular on the M50, on the lives of those who must commute to work on a daily basis and on growth rates in Dublin.
I will discuss the public transport dimension of responding to this challenge when I reply to the following question. For now, however, I will concentrate on the measures that relate to the M50 itself.
As the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in respect of the national roads programme. The planning, design and operation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, formerly known as the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. As I explained to the Deputy in my reply to his question of 24 November, TII examined a range of short and long-term measures to manage demand and optimise operational efficiency on the M50, many of which were published in its M50 demand management study in April 2014. At my request, TII has undertaken further analysis and work to identify a mix of measures that can be taken to improve operational efficiency. This analysis highlights that, since the completion of the M50 upgrade, annual traffic growth has continued and is accelerating with increased economic growth, with more than 140,000 vehicles per day now using the busiest sections.
A number of short-term measures are being progressed. These include changes to junction layouts at key locations following recent upgrades at the N3-M50 and Dublin Airport-M1. The aim of the revised layout is to optimise use of lanes to increase throughput. TII and local authorities are erecting new permanent signage to direct traffic where diversions from the M50 are required. The motorway traffic control centre, which oversees incident response, has been enhanced and the number of incident response vehicles on the M50 has been increased.
I will outline the medium-term measures in response to the following question.
I think the Minister will agree that demand management is an important aspect of ensuring we get the best out of the investment that has already been made. Has any consideration been given to a reduced toll or perhaps a period in which no toll would apply, particularly on the West Link section of the M50, to encourage people to travel earlier and later? While I accept the tolling component is an important part of funding works already completed, it is clear that this piece of infrastructure is now unable to meet demand at certain peak times, so the Minister needs to think more radically. Heretofore, the view would have been that an orbital outer route needed to be built. That is not the answer. We have to sweat the asset that is there, with better demand management.
The Minister rightly identified that the big issue is for Transport Infrastructure Ireland to deal with it but he has overall responsibility for policy. It plays into public transport as well. The decision not to proceed with DART underground as quickly as would have been appropriate to deal with some of the demand for vehicular transport could have been resolved by a greater investment in our public transport network.
On demand management, I have now requested that Transport Infrastructure Ireland initiate work on variable speed limits on the M50. This is a traffic management system that is now in place in many other road networks of a comparable size elsewhere, where the speed limit would be reviewed in response to the amount of traffic that is on the road. This would also help with our efforts in respect of lane utilisation. At the moment, nearly one third of traffic travels on the outside lane at peak times as opposed to one fifth at non-peak times. We need to smooth that out to make best use of all lanes that are there.
In respect of public transport, the Deputy is correct that I made the decision not to go ahead with the current design of DART underground because of the €4 billion cost involved. In the nearer term, we are going to be increasing the bus fleet for Dublin Bus by more than 100 next year, we are opening up the Phoenix Park tunnel next summer, we are redesigning the Dublin control centre to expand capacity in Connolly Station and we will have the Luas cross city project open for the summer of the following year.
I thank the Minister. He mentioned the €4 billion investment. An outer orbital route would obviously cost significantly more and we have to continue to invest in transport infrastructure. I take his point on the investment in buses. That has to be done anyway. There is a relatively small increase in overall bus numbers. What we are lacking is an appropriate basic infrastructure for public transport in this city. If the city is to continue to grow in line with expectations, we are heading into a period of exceptional gridlock at peak times, which will retard the growth not just of the city but of the rest of the country.
We are increasing investment in public transport. In the past 18 months, during my time as Minister, Dublin Bus alone has received an additional €93 million to fund new buses. As I have said, for next year, that will directly equate to an additional 100 buses for its fleet to deliver better frequency on the services we have. Alongside that, we have put further measures in place. For example, we are looking forward to the operation of a new Luas line out to Cabra and Phibsborough by 2017. In the run-up to that, I have now made more funding available to Luas to procure longer carriages. We are putting in place many different measures to increase public transport capacity. This is all happening because the faster rate of job creation is increasing Government's ability to invest in these new measures. I appreciate the difficulty faced by people who are commuting around the M50 each day and that is why we are putting in place a series of short-term and medium-term measures on the road itself to increase its efficiency, alongside investing in additional public transport capacity.
2. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to address the increasing capacity problems on the M50 and the need for a proposed additional ring road to deal with the high demand on the part of motorists. [45431/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Minister outline his plans for addressing the increasing capacity problems on the M50 and the need for a proposed additional ring-road to deal with the high demand from motorists? The idea of an outer ring road has been on the table for many years and I want to hear the Minister's views on this. He was a member of Dublin City Council, where we had many presentations over the years. Are there any measures on the outskirts and the commuter belt that can help?
As I indicated in my answer to Deputy Dooley's question, I am very conscious of the pressures on the M50 but I do not see the provision of major new road infrastructure as a solution at this time, nor is it feasible to do this in the context of our new capital plan. The upgrade of the M50 was completed as recently as 2010 at a cost of €1 billion and the extra capacity is under pressure already. In the short term to medium term, the objective has to be to optimise the operation of the M50 as currently designed and enhance other options, such as public transport.
In respect of public transport, alternatives include the reopening of the Phoenix Park tunnel for some services on the Kildare commuter rail line from next summer. The new Luas cross city line, which will be in operation in late 2017, providing the capacity for an additional 10 million journeys on the Luas network each year, will also be of significant help in this regard. The new capital plan also envisages significant ongoing investment in the replacement and enlargement of the PSO bus fleet. Next year alone, we are providing an additional 100 buses.
The National Transport Authority's draft transport strategy envisages the development of a core orbital bus network to ensure that more trips within the area can be undertaken by public transport in a convenient and efficient manner. These services would be operated at a matching frequency to the core radial services to ensure that they offer an attractive alternative to private transport. Six orbital routes were proposed under the draft strategy, namely, Dún Laoghaire to Dundrum, Dundrum to Tallaght, Dundrum to Finglas, Ranelagh to Drumcondra, Tallaght to Blanchardstown and Blanchardstown to Kilbarrack. Following the conclusion of the public consultation process, the NTA is now in the process of finalising the strategy. Implementation of proposals in the strategy will be subject to approval of business cases and availability of funding.
I acknowledge that it is only five years since the major upgrade, when the road was widened and various junctions were tackled. This cost more than €1 billion. However, it is quite clear that some of the measures being proposed will not be sufficient in the long term. The Minister is talking about lowering speed limits and the possibility of tolling at various off-shoots of the M50. That would probably add to the problem but I would like to hear whether he has ruled out multi-point tolling altogether. A great deal of revenue is generated by the M50. The Minister has said €110 million is taken by the toll and €50 million goes to pay the original owners. I am assuming all that money is ringfenced or put back into the system to deal with the congestion issues, which seem to be multiplying. I use the M50 and it seems to be getting worse.
In respect of the implementation of multi-point tolling and what that would mean, I have made very clear that such a proposal should only be implemented if we have very substantially increased public transport capacity to provide an alternative to the M50. The congestion study done by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in April 2014 indicated there was potential to reduce the volume of traffic on the M50 by up to one fifth.
The Deputy asked about the safety of the aircraft and the materials being transported on board. As I have indicated previously, flights transporting dangerous goods that are granted exemptions are generally carrying munitions such as cartridges, ammunition and some categories of explosive devices and fuses. These must also be packaged securely and on passenger aircraft, they must be stored in the hold to ensure they are inaccessible during the flight.
4. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to address concerns that there is systematic inequality in Government funding for female sports participation programmes; and what policies he is implementing to increase female youth participation in sport. [45447/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Minister of State will be aware of the systemic inequality in Government funding for female sports participation. Will he outline what policy measures the Department is taking to increase female youth participation in sport?
The Government provides funding for sport through Sport Ireland across its various programmes. The core grant programme for national governing bodies, the high performance programme and the carding scheme for elite athletes are all gender neutral, applying to both men and women. The women in sport programme, which is an additional investment targeted at female participation in sport, was launched in 2005 to address the clear gender gap in sports participation. Since then, more than €16 million has been invested in the programme. This year, Sport Ireland is investing €970,000 in women in sport.
Figures from the Irish sports monitor reports show that this investment is delivering results and the programme has proved to be a success. The 2013 report shows that participation among females has increased from 39% in 2011 to almost 43% in 2013. This is equal to more than 750,000 women and girls participating in sport every week, the highest recorded participation rate for women since the Irish sports monitor was introduced in 2007. The result has been a significant narrowing of the gender gap in participation.
While these figures are very encouraging, I recognise that there are particular challenges around young girls staying involved in sport. Sport Ireland, the national governing bodies and the local sports partnerships continue to develop and operate targeted programmes aimed at increasing participation by young girls.
One of my key goals for sport is to encourage more women and girls to become involved in sport and physical activity. I am hopeful that, through these targeted programmes, we will see a further narrowing of the gender gap in sport and more participation by young girls. In this regard, the Minister and I met representatives of the Women's Gaelic Players Association yesterday to discuss issues relating to their sport.
Ireland is rated the third worst European Union member state for primary level physical education and the seventh worst at second level. Women show much lower activity levels and participation rates in sport than young men, with only 39% of the 16 to 25 female age cohort playing a sport compared to 63% of males in the same age group. We learned recently that significantly fewer women than men receive sports scholarships in third level institutions. This should serve as a reminder of the gap that exists between the sexes. Barely one in five sports scholars is a woman. As such, significant work remains to be done. While I do not doubt the Minister of State's commitment, the issue is not always one of Government funding. A strategic approach is required to ensure funding is spent correctly and in a way that encourages initial and continued participation in sport by women and girls. The only way to achieve this is through leadership programmes and scholarships that help to increase participation.
I agree with the Deputy. The Department is working on a physical activity plan and I hope the targets it sets will be reached. Successful sportswomen, of whom there are many in this country, do not receive the same recognition as men. The time has come to promote women in sport more. In particular, the national governing bodies and sports organisations must recognise the achievements of women and offer them the same opportunities as men.
In 2014, the Irish Sports Council provided additional funding for women in sport, including €142,500 to the Football Association of Ireland specifically to develop the women's game; €112,500 to the Irish Rugby Football Union to support the women's game; €384,655 to the Ladies Gaelic Football Association; €378,510 to the Camogie Association; and €166,930 to the Ladies Golf Union of Ireland. The purpose of this funding was to increase women's involvement in sport. The Deputy is correct, however, that more needs to be done and I have focused on local sports partnerships for this reason. In many counties, these partnerships encourage women to participate in marathons. Through the sports capital fund, we are trying to fund football, soccer and rugby pitches and provide tracks to give women who are dropping their children to school an opportunity to participate in sport.
A big bang approach is needed. The Department must introduce a strategy that has been thought out. While I do not underestimate the Minister of State's commitment in this regard, particularly with regard to funding various groups, these efforts will only keep things ticking along. This approach must be overlaid with a new and appropriately funded strategy that encourages greater participation in sport across the disciplines. I hope the Minister of State will give some consideration to that proposal in the new year.
The Deputy is correct. This issue is not solely the responsibility of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Departments of Education and Skills and Health also have a major part to play in this area. As part of the physical activity plan being developed by the Department, we have raised many of these issues with the Departments of Education and Skills and Health. The trouble with government sometimes is that every Department wants to have responsibility for sport but not all of them want to do anything about it. The Department is working with the Departments of Health and Education and Skills for the first time in many years to produce a plan.
I am pleased the Deputy has raised this issue because I agree with him that gender balance is necessary and women must be treated fairly in sport. We must encourage women to participate in sport in whatever way we can because too many girls stop engaging in sport, especially between the ages of 13 and 15 years. My Department and the Departments of Health and Education and Skills must target this issue. We are hoping to identify ways and means of dealing with the problem through the new plan. Women must be treated equally in sport.
5. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport given that Ireland's economy has been described as improved by the Department of Finance and given that the document, Climate Change Mitigation: Preparation of Low-Carbon Roadmap for Transport, published by his Department in December 2013, envisaged retrenchment in public transport investment due to economic circumstances only until 2016, after which it was hoped to increase longer-term investment in infrastructure, giving Ireland more capacity to support and develop a low-carbon economy by 2050, the plans his Department has drawn up for such investment commencing in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45025/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy priority question was my question on workers' conditions in the Dublin Airport Authority and Aer Lingus. It followed up on a question I asked previously and I am disappointed it was not selected for reply.
On the issue of climate change, we are informed that the country's economic performance is improving. We are clearly in a crisis, however, because Ireland will not meet its climate change targets. Transport has a key role in this area. Has the Minister used the additional money that has been found to fast forward investment for next year to get to grips with our abysmal record in achieving our emissions targets?
As the Deputy is aware, it is proposed to address emissions through a national mitigation plan, which will incorporate input from many sectors of government and society in the areas of electricity generation, the built environment, agriculture and transport. The mitigation measures being considered for transport will be wide-ranging and will focus on policy development, smarter travel and modal shift, supports for alternative fuels and certain fiscal and taxation incentives to target behavioural change. Public transport projects and investment will form part of this multifaceted response to mitigation from the sector.
To date, considerable progress has been achieved through measures aimed at promoting improved technologies and changing travel behaviour. With regard to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, a range of energy efficiency measures, including eco-driving, bus and network priority programmes and fleet replacement, have delivered significant fuel savings. Irish Rail has also introduced a range of measures, including train configuration changes and traction control software on the DART network.
On the specific issue of fleet replacement, Dublin Bus will receive 110 new buses in 2016, of which 80 will be replacement buses and 30 for market growth.
In addition, Bus Éireann will get 72 new buses comprising 11 from its 2015 order and 60 additional buses for replacement and market growth.
Investment in fleet replacement is underpinned by significant investment in the public transport element of the Government's new capital plan, which will reach €3.6 billion in the period 2016 to 2021. In 2015, I secured an additional allocation of €60 million for capital investment in public transport infrastructure to bring the total capital investment in 2015 to €340 million. A similar amount has been secured for next year and annual allocations will more than double to €845 million in the final years of the plan.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
This funding will be used for asset renewal of the public transport system including the upgrading of bus corridors and the completion of the Luas cross-city project in Dublin. Funds are also being committed in respect of a range of measures which will help to alleviate traffic congestion and promote a shift to public transport away from private cars in the short term, including the building of additional cycle lanes, the continuation of smart technology upgrades, improvements to the DART service and the opening of the Phoenix Park tunnel in 2016. Investment will also be focused on addressing growing congestion resulting from economic recovery and population growth. Such funding will also enable other major transport projects to proceed, such as the new metro north and the DART expansion programme.
In addition to this investment in public transport infrastructure, my Department is currently developing a new national policy framework to support the uptake of alternative fuels through the development of infrastructure and incentives aimed at increasing the number of alternative-fuelled vehicles, including buses, being used in Ireland. Within this context and as reflected in the White Paper on energy policy which is being launched around now, it is proposed to establish a green bus fund to support the purchase of cleaner and greener public transport vehicles in the period to 2020.
In the context of our mitigation objectives, the responsibility for emissions reduction is a collective one and, when all sectoral inputs have been co-ordinated, the draft mitigation plan will be available for extensive public consultation before being submitted for approval to Government.
If that is the best that is planned, we have a serious problem. There may have been more investment in Dublin Bus but fares are increasing and that is making the public transport network less attractive for users. Iarnród Éireann has changed its schedule, cutting out key routes at key times in areas such as north County Dublin which, again, forces people out of the trains and back into their cars. Congestion is back to the boom time levels of 2008. According to the EPA, we will not only fail to meet our targets but will massively overshoot them. What we have had is a huge number of plans but very little substance. Transport emissions are projected to increase by 20% over the period 2020 to 2035. The only two things in the Government's plan to deal with this are electric cars and the move to biomass and biofuel. Let us look at electric cars briefly. The Minister has told us that he will get 50,000 of these on the road by 2020. It is his key plank. There are 1,000 on the road now on the eve of 2016. As such, he tells us that there will be a fiftyfold increase magically overnight. This is not a minor part of his plan, it is actually promoted as the key part along with biofuel. He is nowhere near delivering on either of them.
It does not matter what I stand up and announce because it is never going to meet the Deputy's approval. She is flatly refusing to accept the reality that investment in public transport is increasing. She talks about plans and their delivery. Let us look at delivery for next year and the opening of the Phoenix Park tunnel, which will have the capacity to facilitate the carrying of an additional 1 million passengers. Let us look at that to which I have just referred. An additional €90 million has already been made available to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to provide new buses. That is happening. The reason the Deputy is so unwilling to acknowledge any of this additional investment is because it comes from a recovery she said would never happen.
Hear, hear.
It is because there has been a change in our economy that we have the ability to invest more. We are investing more in longer Luas carriages, new Luas services, including the opening up of the Luas cross-city route, new improved train and DART frequencies and greater numbers of buses. In respect of private transport and the need to make private cars more efficient, we are putting in place, and have out to public consultation currently, a new policy on alternative fuels, biomass and compressed natural gas to make more of such fuel sources available for use in private vehicles.
I am absolutely delighted the economy is recovering, I am just sorry that the statistics show it is disproportionately loaded in favour of those at the top. Those in the middle and the bottom have seen their incomes falling. On the issue of public transport, in which radical investment is needed, metro north was on track when the Government came to power and then it shelved it. While it has now put the project back into development, we have not seen anything on the ground. I see that the Minister chose to ignore the points I made about electric cars, which comprise a key plank of his policy to lower our emissions. It is not me giving out and saying that it is not good enough. The Government's own agency, the EPA, is pointing out that there will be an overall growth in emissions because of our lack of investment in public transport. The Government announced to great fanfare the discovery of billions of extra euro in the Exchequer coffers. When will we see evidence of that to which I refer being front-loaded in terms of delivery? Given that he places such emphasis on them, the Minister might talk about electric cars. How is he going to get the numbers from 1,000 to 50,000? When the Government came to office, the target was 230,000. As such, we are going forwards and going backwards.
We have had at least a partial epiphany today in that Deputy Clare Daly has acknowledged that a recovery is taking place.
Hear, hear.
What we want is a recovery that can be made secure. We want to keep the recovery going and we want more people to participate in it. Perhaps the Deputy will be able to stand up later and acknowledge that an additional 130,000 jobs have been created. Everything is aimed at ensuring that more people can participate in the recovery.
In the context of actual delivery, I am not sure the Deputy wanted to listen to what I said a moment ago. I have already outlined what we are doing in respect of buses alone. Let me deal with electric cars. It is a pity that in her analysis of the issue, the Deputy failed to acknowledge that there are more than 1,000 electric recharging points available across our country and that 97% to 98% of all towns and cities that need the points now have them in place. The infrastructure is in place to enable their growth, which the Deputy completely missed in the points she put to me. In fairness, one of the few points she made that I agreed with relates to the need to look at the use of electric cars and to increase their numbers. That is why the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, and I have put in place a new interdepartmental group to consider measures to incentivise the use of these vehicles and to take advantage of the very infrastructure the Deputy did not want to acknowledge in her contribution.
