Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

EU Transport Matters: Discussion with Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

10:15 am

Photo of Noel HarringtonNoel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Mahony and have a few questions for him. In respect of the Connecting Europe facility, CEF, priority, he mentioned that a budget of €30 billion was allocated under the multi-annual financial framework. Has this amount increased or decreased as part of the multi-annual financial framework directive? In a linked question regarding the European transport guidelines and the maritime sector, I refer to European Union initiatives such as the Marco Polo programme and the Motorways of the Sea initiative. Have they had an impact and is Ireland tapping into them? Obviously, as an island nation, maritime access is of huge concern, as is any support Ireland may get from the European Union through the aforementioned initiatives. Has Mr. O'Mahony been briefed on what is the status of these initiatives with respect to Ireland? On the maritime sector and maritime safety in particular, the Marine Survey Office, MSO, obviously would be directly responsible here. Is there a drive towards common standards such that the MSO in Ireland would have the same safety issues as its equivalent office in Germany or its counterparts elsewhere in the European Union? Is there a move towards common agreements on safety directives through the maritime safety directive? As for the Maritime Labour Convention, one hears periodically of vessels entering a European Union port and being detained because they have issues of insufficient labour. In the opinion of the witnesses, is European Union legislation or directives having a global impact? While these regulations exist within the European Union, anecdotal evidence invariably suggests that those vessels being detained are operating under flags from south-east Asia, Central America or wherever. Are European Union regulations having a positive global impact in the context of the Maritime Labour Convention?

On the aviation sector, I note a debate is ongoing at present, arising through media reports, about safety, etc. While we obviously will not get into that here, Mr. O'Mahony mentioned statistics on incidents and accidents. How does that relate in the context of transport movements throughout the European Union? While one would hope the trend is positive, rather than taking a snapshot, how is the trend of aviation statistics moving? Finally, is a level playing field being ensured with regard to the issue of tachographs? Haulage from Ireland evidently is more expensive than is the case on the Continent and it is important that we are not at an unfair competitive disadvantage on foot of issues surrounding tachographs. While we already are at an unfair disadvantage as an island, we should ensure there is a level playing field throughout the European Union.

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