Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to appear before the select sub-committee to recommend this Supplementary Estimate of €162 million in additional capital funding for my Department. This will bring my overall capital envelope and investment in land transport for this year to over €1.14 billion, which is something I hope will be sustained in the future. This additional funding will address three key priorities. The first of these is to advance the stimulus projects announced by Government in May of this year, second, to repair the damage done to our roads and public transport infrastructure by the severe weather at the end of last year and earlier this year and, third, to support and improve our public transport sector, protect previous investments and ensure the sector is better placed to address the transport demands associated with an economy in recovery.
The overall funding requirement is €162 million. The bulk of this – at €110 million - will go towards the public transport investment programme. The balance will go towards the roads programme - at €47 million - and various smaller amounts towards the Smarter Travel, sports and tourism programmes.I am also including a technicalvirementof savings to facilitate two important initiatives in the sports and tourism areas. On the first priority, members will be aware the Government made stimulus funding available through the sale of State assets for various projects and initiatives, many of which fall within my Department’s remit. The last stimulus package, announced in May, included provision for a number of initiatives within my Department’s remit. Today’s Supplementary Estimate covers the following elements of that May stimulus package: €33 million towards the roads programme; €5 million towards a public transport initiative; €1.6 million towards the Greenways programme; €500,000 towards the development of Lough Derg as a tourism initiative; and €80,000 towards the development of a headquarters for the Special Olympics within the National Sports Campus complex. The balance of the funding announced in May will be included in the Revised Estimate for 2015 and beyond as these projects are rolled out and as expenditure is incurred.
These projects are in addition to our other stimulus projects announced last year which included the Wild Atlantic Way, the National Indoor Arena and a new round of sports capital funding, all of which are progressing well. With this injection of capital funding, we are already seeing much-needed employment and economic activity at a local level with very important multiplier effects for the wider national economy.
I have stated before that investment in our national, regional and local roads is one of my top priorities. The efficient movement of goods and people around our country is vital to our economic future, as well as ensuring the connectivity of outlying communities to our major urban centres. This funding will mean projects like the realignment of the N77 at Ballynaslee in Kilkenny, the widening of Hughes Bridge on the N4 in Sligo and pavement strengthening in Macroom, just to list a number, will come on-stream next year and communities up and down the country will feel the benefit.
On the second priority, members will also recall that Government agreed a funding package in February last aimed at addressing some of the priority areas affected by severe weather which hit Ireland earlier this year. This Supplementary Estimate includes spend of €21 million for this purpose, including €14.1 million to repair roads at national, regional and local level, and a further €6.8 million for damage to public transport infrastructure, particularly the rail network. Some further funding has been ring-fenced within my Vote next year as repairs are done and expenditure incurred.
The third element of this Supplementary Estimate is new and represents a significant milestone in the Government’s capital investment programme in transport. This has been made possible given the improved economic and fiscal outlook. Since taking up this portfolio, I have become acutely aware of the very challenging financial situation faced by CIE, in particular Irish Rail, and the dependence of the Group on continued bank funding. I remain strongly supportive of the efforts to secure the company’s financial sustainability in order to ensure that rail services can be provided efficiently and cost effectively, with investment needs met over the long term. The Government has provided substantial Exchequer investment in the rail network in recent years despite the significant financial challenges and is fully engaged with Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority (NTA) in examining the future funding requirements for the company to ensure a sustainable future. I recognise that the Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport has called for a review of rail and I will be consulting with the NTA on how best to progress this proposal.
Earlier this year, an independent group of experts brought together by my Department to examine transport investment in Ireland, produced an important report and a series of recommendations which provide a Strategic Framework for Land Transport Investment in Ireland. A key finding in this report is that over the last number of years the level of investment in land transport as a percentage of national income or GDP is below the level necessary to support and improve, as necessary, the land transport system.

This has meant that care and maintenance requirements of our transport infrastructure are not being met with very obvious implications for our roads and public transport asset base. Members will be very aware of this.

With an improving economic outlook and a healthier fiscal position, we are now in a better place to begin to re-invest in our transport infrastructure in a way that was simply not possible since the Government took office. With this Supplementary Estimate, the Government’s investment levels in transport infrastructure will see a significant increase this year for the first time since 2008. As a result of this Supplementary Estimate, overall capital investment in the land transport programme will exceed the €1 billion mark. This will begin a trend which I hope will be sustained over the course of the next capital framework which is to be announced by the Government shortly. The injection of an additional €110 million in our public transport programme will ensure critical projects are funded sufficiently, including Luas cross-city and that the PSO, public service obligation, bus fleet is refreshed and expanded to meet growing demands of an economy in recovery.

This injection will provide €50 million for bus renewal and a further €5 million for Luas cross-city so that public transport can meet growing demands of an economy in recovery. In addition, €45 million of that €110 million earmarked for public transport will be targeted at Irish Rail’s renewal investment. This breaks down into €27 million for railcar renewal and €18 million for infrastructure maintenance, all of which will contribute to securing a viable path for the company.

The net result of this increase in investment will mean 90 modern new buses for Dublin Bus commuters, 57 new coaches for Bus Éireann and enhanced service reliability and safety for passengers who use Irish Rail services. This is extremely important not just for them but for the wider economy as an expanding public transport network is essential if we are to effectively harness the nascent growth now evident in our economy. This extra investment in public transport coincides with the maintenance of current PSO funding for transport companies at the same level in 2015 as it was in 2014. This is the first time there has been no reduction in this funding for several years.

Apart from the much-needed funding for transport, this Supplementary Estimate also includes additional allocations for the sports and tourism programmes. I have already referred to some of this in context of stimulus funding. In addition, I will allocate an extra €1 million for equipment for sporting bodies this year. For tourism, an additional €850,000 for Fáilte Ireland will facilitate strategic IT investments primarily to promote the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin.

I have also included some technical virements in the Supplementary Estimate which will allow me to use savings from the Road Safety Authority which is moving to a self-financing position, and pay-related efficiencies in Fáilte Ireland’s grant-in-aid subhead, to meet the costs of two important initiatives. There will be an extra €1 million in funding for the Irish Sports Council and a major tourism marketing blitz in key overseas markets over the winter. The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, will play a role in each of these.

I am pleased to recommend this Supplementary Estimate to the select sub-committee.