Written Answers Nos. 221-240
221. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Transport if he has any plans to undertake a review of the current Local Link morning service to a school (details supplied), with a view to increasing the frequency of the service due to the high level of demand from students in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47562/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including management of the Rural Transport Programme which operates under the TFI Local Link brand.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for TFI Local Link services, including TFI Local Link services in County Sligo, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
222. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Transport when a person (details supplied) will be facilitated with a driving test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47592/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the National Driving Test Service. This includes test applications and scheduling matters. Neither I nor my Department hold information on or have the have the power to intervene in individual cases.
I have therefore referred the Deputy's Question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
223. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal can expect an invite for a test date for her driving test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47598/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the National Driving Test Service. This includes test applications and scheduling matters. Neither I nor my Department hold information on or have the have the power to intervene in individual cases.
I have therefore referred the Deputy's Question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
224. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of statements of interests for the purposes of Section 19 that have been filed by his special advisors in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will provide a schedule of same. [47657/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraSpecial advisors are responsible to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) in relation to filing of Section 19 Statements of Interests. Where a Statement of Interest is furnished, it is to be laid before the Oireachtas. There is no obligation on a special advisor to furnish a nil statement where no interests exist. Accountable issues in relation to Special Advisors are defined in declarations to be made under the Ethics in Public office Act.
225. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport if additional capacity can be provided on routes 216 and 220 in Cork, in both the morning and evening, to ensure that all children travelling to school from Maryborough and Douglas can avail of public bus transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47673/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.
In light of the Authority's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question in relation to the provision of additional capacity on routes 216 and 220 in Cork, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
226. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has plans to introduce bus services to the Bohernabreena area of Dublin south-west; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47687/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.
In light of the Authority's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question asking whether there are plans to introduce bus services to Bohernabreena area of Dublin south-west to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
227. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport the reason students over the age of 23 years who are not enrolled in full-time education cannot benefit from a student Leap card, especially given that the cost of a part-time postgraduate diploma, masters degree, and so on, puts the individual at a significant economic disadvantage. [47690/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
As part of the overall PSO package for 2024, I secured funding for the continuation of the 20% average fare reduction on PSO services, the 90-minute fare and for an increase in the upper age limit for the Young Adult Card from 23 to 25-years-of age.
The PSO programme represents a significant expenditure of taxpayers' money, and funding has increased in recent years to cater for additional services and growing capacity along with the fare discount schemes already in place. Any assessment of a proposed change to public transport fare structures would be a matter for the NTA to consider in the first instance.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
228. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport the reason students from other EU Member States visiting Ireland cannot benefit from the student fare for public transport services; and if this is standard practice across other EU Member States. [47691/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
As the Deputy may be aware, participation in the Young Adult Card (YAC) scheme was initially for 19 to 23 year olds inclusive. However, in October 2022 the YAC was further extended to include full-time third levels students aged 16 to 18 years old. More recently, funding has been secured under Budget 2024 for the extension of the upper age limit of the YAC from 23 to 25-years-of-age.
The PSO programme represents a significant expenditure of taxpayers' money, and funding has increased in recent years to cater for additional services and growing capacity along with the fare discount schemes already in place. Any assessment of a proposed change to public transport fare structures would be a matter for the NTA to consider in the first instance.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
229. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 185 of 24 October 2023, whether any steps were taken to establish if an aircraft (details supplied) was transporting US soldiers and/or weapons or munitions while travelling from the USA to the Persian Gulf, as this aircraft was on contract to the US military using US Transportation Command call sign CMB504 and was likely to be on a mission to support the Israeli attacks on Gaza, and on its return journey to the USA it landed at US Naval Air Station Jacksonville; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47696/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe airline that the Deputy refers to has applied for, and been granted, exemptions to carry munitions in Irish sovereign airspace in the past. It has engaged with officials in my Department in this regard so it is fully aware of the obligations on air carriers under the 1973 and 1989 Orders. The airline has also carried out aircraft operations that transit Ireland, including technical stops and overflights, where it has not carried munitions of war and therefore did not require an exemption. I would point out that the Orders relate to the carriage of “munitions of war” and do not impose any requirement on aircraft operators regarding the transportation of military personnel.
Given previous engagement with the airline and its awareness of the requirements of Irish law regarding the carriage of munitions of war on board aircraft in Irish sovereign airspace, it was not deemed necessary to follow-up on any particular flight that an exemption had not been sought for.
230. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport the reason two train stations, Balbriggan and Skerries, have been excluded from the TFI 90-minute €2-ticket scheme, resulting in an inequity for many commuters travelling to Dublin city centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47707/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
231. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport to provide a breakdown of the advertising spend of his Department and agencies under the remit of his Department, by national media outlet and local newspaper outlet, for each of the years 2020 to 2022, in tabular form. [47742/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the deputy requires input from external contractors. A response will be issued within the next 10 working days. Further to this, I have referred your question to the agencies under my department’s remit to respond to you directly. If you do not hear from them within 10 working days, please advise my private office.
232. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport in relation to the Red Line Luas service from Citywest to the city centre, which a regular Luas commuter has reported to be increasingly unreliable, with growing patterns of regular service discontinuation over incidents of different kinds, including Luas infrastructure failure, if he will inquire into the reasons for the lack of a reliable, regular and predictable Luas service; and outline what specifically is being done to improve the service. [47761/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The issues raised are operational matters for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with the Luas operator Transdev Ireland, and I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's question to the TII for direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
233. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport if he will outline the extra funding being made available to Cork County Council for the repair of local roads which have been devastated during Storm Babet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47776/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the Councils’ own resources and supplemented by State Road grants. The Department emphasises to local authorities each year the importance of setting aside a contingency fund to manage events such as severe flooding. There is also good flexibility within the annual grants programme to allow local authorities reprioritise funding following such incidences as severe weather events.
However, Storm Babet has caused significant damage to the regional and local road network and it will take time to assess the full extent of the impact on the road network. In addition, noting the extent of damage and associated potential costs that has occurred towards the end of the annual work programme, the Department is aware that most funds in this financial year are expended or committed and any level of reprioritisation is limited.
Local authorities are presently providing initial damage assessments and estimated repair costs for some of the worst effected locations. Prompt restoration of the road network is required to maintain a safe environment and enable social/economic connectivity; therefore, a small amount of emergency funding is being made available to facilitate the opening of some key roads. This funding is being made available from within the 2023 Regional and Local Roads Grant allocation, and as such, the fund is limited and can only support immediate emergency repairs.
I am committed to working closely with affected local authorities to assist in addressing the issues caused by these storm events and to help restore our road network.
234. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Transport the engagements his Department, or any agency or body under his direction, has had with the government of Israel, any state body of the government of Israel, or any engagement within or with Israel, in 2021, 2022 and to-date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47817/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2021, the Department received a request from the Israeli Embassy in respect of a driving licence exchange agreement. The request came under the remit of the Road Safety Authority, as the Irish driver licensing authority, and was forwarded to them accordingly.
There have been no further engagements with the Department which come under the remit of the Deputy’s question.
With respect to the agencies under the aegis of the department, I have referred your question to the agencies for a direct reply. Please advise my office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
235. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Transport the engagements his Department, or any agency or body under his direction, has had with the Palestinian Authority, any organ of the Palestinian Authority, or any engagement within, or with organisations in, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in the years 2021, 2022 and to-date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47835/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the Deputy’s question, there has been no such engagement.
With respect to the agencies under the aegis of the department, I have referred your question to the agencies for a direct reply. Please advise my office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
236. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport if an urgent audit of a driving test centre (details supplied) will be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47840/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. As such, neither I nor my officials have the power to directly intervene with regard to specific test centres or driving test routes.
Given the RSA's responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the RSA for direct reply and a more detailed response on the issues raised. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
237. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Transport what funding streams are available from his Department to aid in the design, reconfiguration and support of pedestrian safety in the locality of schools. [47878/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn March 2021, I launched the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme as a response to the need to improve safety at the ‘front of school’ environment and enhance access to school grounds. The programme aims to support walking, scooting and cycling to primary and post-primary schools and to create safer walking and cycling routes within communities. This will help alleviate congestion at school gates and increase the number of students who walk or cycle to school by providing the necessary infrastructure.
The Programme is funded by my Department through the National Transport Authority (NTA). An Taisce’s Green-Schools is coordinating the programme and funding will be made available to local authorities who will play a key part in delivering the infrastructure along access routes and at the school gate. The improvements to the school commute could range from an upgraded footpath or new cycle lane to a complete reworking of a school’s entrance. The required investment at each school will be dependent on the changes required in each particular case.
All schools were notified of the programme and were invited to apply. 931 applications were received from primary and secondary schools across every county in Ireland, making up around a quarter of all the schools in the country. 167 schools form Round 1 of the Programme with a further 108 schools having been selected for inclusion in Round 2. It should be noted that all schools that applied to the original call for applications were accepted into the programme, and if not selected in the first two rounds will be selected at a later stage without the need to reapply.
Funding for Active Travel infrastructure for schools is not confined to the Safe Routes to Schools Programme alone. It is important to note that all Active Travel funding looks to improve links to schools where possible, and this will be provided through the Programme for Government commitment that €360 million in cross-Government funding will be spent on walking and cycling per annum over the lifetime of the Government.
238. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the N4 upgrade works. [47881/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals. In this context, TII is best placed to advise you on the status of this project.
I can confirm that €200,000 has been allocated for the N4 Mullingar to Longford Project in 2023. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the project will be kept under review for 2024 and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII. The allocations for national roads for 2024 are expected to be announced by the end of this year.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply updating you on the latest status of this project. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
239. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Transport what engagement his Department has had, and what plans are being considered or implemented, to improve the Dublin to Sligo rail service. [47882/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The issues raised concerning possible plans that are being considered or implemented to improve the Dublin to Sligo rail service, are an operational matter for the NTA in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann and I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
240. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Transport the current waiting times in all driving test centres in Longford and Westmeath; and if additional testers have been allocated to these specific centres to deal with the backlog of people awaiting driving tests, per test centre, in tabular form. [47888/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. As such, I have referred the question to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
On the broader issue of driver testing delays, the service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which has increased by 28% compared with 2021 figures. The Authority is currently providing an average of 4,000 tests per week, up 25% on this time last year.
Anticipating ongoing demand pressures, the Authority reviewed the capacity of the service and, following a request for additional resources, my Department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers in March of this year. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to 205, which is more than double the 100 sanctioned testing posts in June 2022.
This recruitment is underway and I have been advised that the first tranche of new recruits were deployed in September. It is expected that before the end of the year there will be a net increase of 42 driver testers and they will be allocated across the driver testing service with a focus on geographical areas with the longest waiting times and highest demand for tests.
The RSA estimate that the agreed service level of average wait times of 10 weeks will resume in mid-2024.
