Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the members of the select sub-committee for allowing me this opportunity to present the 2014 Revised Estimate for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for their consideration.

This will be a very important year for all five divisions in my Department - tourism, sport, land transport, maritime transport and aviation. I have published a list of 24 priorities which touch on almost all aspects of my Department, including an ambitious legislative programme. An overarching goal will be to continue contributing to the Government’s overall efforts to reduce the deficit, generate economic growth and increase employment. All five divisions will play their role in underpinning the recovery and driving further sustainable economic growth. The Government’s medium-term economic strategy 2020, published in December, underlines the importance of the tourism and transport sectors to Ireland’s recovery. Competitive and efficient transport is vital both for domestic and export sectors and a well functioning world class transport infrastructure remains a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment.

Investment in transport infrastructure which this year will exceed €1 billion between roads and public transport is also a very direct economic stimulus that can generate direct and indirect employment.

The Government’s medium-term economic strategy also recognises the progress made in the tourism sector. As the sector moves from recovery to a period of new growth, I am undertaking a major review of existing policy which is now more than a decade old. The review will be completed by the first quarter of 2014 and I plan to have in place a new strategy and action plan by the end of the year. This year the Government is targeting a further 4% increase in visitor numbers and an 8% increase in revenue.

In public transport I will be targeting an increase of 5 million in the number of passenger journeys, an increase of 2%. There also will be a renewed focus on safety on the roads and at sea. In addition, testing of new roadside drug testing equipment will begin later in the year.

On sport, the Department will commence work on Ireland's bid to host the Rugby World Cup. Work also will start on the national indoor arena at the National Sports Campus in Dublin and the Department will publish a new master plan for sport. There will also be a new round of local and regional sports capital grants. Both that round and the master plan will be led by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring.

On aviation, the Department is undertaking a significant policy review and will finalise the merger of Shannon Airport and Shannon Development, I hope before the summer. The budget allocations before members will be critical to the achievement of these priorities.

As the sub-committee will have seen, the gross expenditure provision for my Department in 2014 is €1.67 billion, of which just under €1 billion, that is, €982 million, is for capital projects and €687 million for current spending. This represents a 2% decrease on the 2013 budget allocation. Most of the reduction relates to the continued application of the cuts foreseen in the comprehensive expenditure review and is line with the Government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation. Despite reduced funding, I am confident that we can deliver a very ambitious programme this year.

The Department’s Vote is divided among five main expenditure programmes. A total of 79% of the Vote, or €1.315 billion in 2014, is allocated to the land transport programme. This includes road maintenance, repair and improvement - €751 million - at national, regional and local level; the public transport investment programme in respect of buses and trains - €283 million - and public service provision payments, that is, the public service obligation, PSO, payments - €221 million. Overall, the allocation for the land transport programme has been reduced by 3% from the 2013 figure. It is the largest programme and has taken the largest hit in 2014, with a current expenditure adjustment of more than €68 million. That said, I have managed to secure additional stimulus funding of €50 million again this year for local and regional roads. This should soften the impact of the cut in a critical part of the road network.

Apart from the roads programme at national, local and regional level, the programme covers a diverse range of projects, programmes and agencies. For example, it will provide for the commencement of works on the Luas cross-city project, a review of the national cycle policy framework, funding for the Road Safety Authority and the development of the online facility for road haulage operator licence applications. I will be happy to go into more detail on all aspects of the programme, as members wish.

The sub-committee will be keenly aware of the impact of the recent severe weather on transport infrastructure and, in particular, local and regional roads. My Department is engaged in a Government-wide process in this regard. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, recently presented the Government with an interim report on the severe weather, with a preliminary estimate of €20 million to repair damaged roads. The Government agreed to return to the question of funding to repair storm damage when the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government’s final assessment of costs was available.

The tourism services programme accounts for 8% or €137 million of the budget allocation and provides for the programmes and administrative spend of the two tourism agencies, namely, Fáilte Ireland - €60 million - and Tourism Ireland - €15 million. It also includes a €35 million contribution to the tourism marketing fund and €24 million for the tourism product development scheme which, essentially, is the capital budget and has been enhanced significantly this year through the Government’s stimulus programme and the additional money allocated specifically for the Wild Atlantic Way project.

The sports and recreation services programme accounts for 6% or €95 million of the budget allocation. This programme's allocation has increased by 28% from that of 2013, mainly as a result of the additional funding of €11.5 million voted under the Government stimulus programme for the sports capital programme and the allocation of €13 million towards the development of the indoor arena at the National Sports Campus. Both the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus receive funding through the grant-in-aid subhead of €60 million which supports their respective programmes and administrative costs.

The maritime transport and safety programme stands at €94 million in 2014 or 6% of the Vote. While this is a reduction of 7% from the allocation for 2013, the programme will be supplemented by an allocation of €4.8 million of unspent capital funding carried over from last year. The main sub-programme covers the Irish Coast Guard. I have maintained the budget in line with its requirements to ensure it can continue to provide an effective maritime emergency service, including the 24-7 helicopter search and rescue. Earlier this month I was pleased to welcome officially the Irish Coast Guard’s new state-of-the-art S92 search and rescue helicopter for the Dublin region. This is the fourth Sikorsky S92 helicopter base to come into operation for the Irish Coast Guard and means that all four Irish Coast Guard bases now have upgraded helicopters.

The gross expenditure provision for the aviation programme is €27.7 million or 2% of the Vote. The largest beneficiary of the funding is the regional airports programme - €12 million - followed by funding earmarked to cover costs associated with Ireland's membership of Eurocontrol, costs incurred by the Irish Aviation Authority for exempt services and subscriptions to international organisations. Aviation has always been recognised as a key element in our economic recovery. In that context, I intend to publish the new aviation policy this year. A draft policy statement will be published shortly to give stakeholders a further opportunity to have an input. A final policy will then be published towards mid-year. In addition, I aim to publish and enact the State Airports (Shannon) Bill which will establish, among other things, Shannon Group plc on a statutory footing. I expect the Bill to be published next month. Both policy initiatives will be critical to ensuring the aviation sector is fit for purpose to meet the demands and challenges of economic recovery.

I commend the Estimate to the sub-committee and I am happy to take questions from members.