Mr. Michael Nolan:

I thank the Chairman of the joint committee for the invitation to attend.

Before I address the topics tabled by the committee, I will briefly outline what our organisation does. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, was established under the Roads Act 2015 which provided for the merger of the staff and functions of the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Roads Authority. It is a non-commercial semi-State body operating under the aegis of the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport. It implements policy as determined by the Minister and, accordingly, has operational responsibility for the delivery and maintenance of national roads and light rail-metro infrastructure. Having said that, we are mindful of the key role transport infrastructure plays in diverse policy areas, including economic development, spatial planning, achieving a regional balance, environmental protection, climate action and sustainability. TII actively engages, therefore, through the Department and directly with agencies with responsibilities in these areas. The merging of the organisations has not only brought together management and technical expertise but also significant experience in the management and delivery of the country’s most transformational transport infrastructure. The opening of the Luas cross-city service at the end of this year will provide opportunities for the reallocation of resources to the design and delivery of other TII projects. TII is uniquely positioned, therefore, to respond quickly and effectively in the design and delivery of new transport infrastructure.

I will now address specific matters of interest which come within the remit of TII. The first is the current status of the Building on Recovery programme of works. The capital investment plan, Building on Recovery, provides for the construction of eight major national road projects. It also identifies five other projects to be progressed to construction, subject to achieving planning consent. The total allocation for this investment is €730 million. However, 90% of this funding is profiled over the last three years of the seven-year plan. This funding profile dictates that most projects can only hit construction phase after 2019, with the exception of the widening of the M7 at Naas, which will start earlier. TII's strategy is to advance enabling and de-risking works during the early years of the plan. Under the current PPP programme, three new major roads are under construction. These are the M17-M18, Gort to Tuam motorway; the N25, New Ross bypass and the M11, Gorey to Enniscorthy motorway. This PPP programme is on target and set to deliver significant benefits and value for money. It should be noted that roads have been excluded from the next phase of the PPP programme.

TII is working closely with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on the Government's mid-term review of the capital investment plan. While the detail of submission to the Department forms part of an ongoing deliberative process, the focus of the submission concentrates on increasing funding for maintenance and renewal works, accelerating projects within the capital investment programme, constructing additional projects, progressing the planning of other road projects deemed critical to support a growing population and economic recovery and mitigating some of the potential negative impacts of Brexit. As it can take five years to achieve planning consent for a major road project, there will be a shortfall in the number of projects available for inclusion in subsequent capital investment plans. Failure to prepare for future needs will lead to increased congestion, longer and less reliable journey times, roads that are less safe, higher costs and suppressed economic activity.

In respect of national roads, TII's main priorities are aligned with the three key priorities of set out in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport's document, Investing in our Transport Future – A Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport, which was published in August 2015. They are to achieve and maintain steady state maintenance and renewal of the national road network, to address urban congestion and to maximise the contribution of transport infrastructure to national development. Funding for national road maintenance and renewals has reduced severely since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. Between 2008 and 2016, maintenance funding reduced by approximately 35%. Infrastructure requires investment in renewals if the network is to be resilient and perform safely and efficiently. Without the necessary levels of investment, the condition of the network will deteriorate and the value of the assets reduce. Sustained under-investment inevitably results in long-term damage and reduced asset value, together with diminished benefits and additional costs for road users. The cost of deferred interventions significantly exceeds that of undertaking timely maintenance and renewals of the strategic asset. This view is shared by the Department which is working towards the restoration by 2020 of the requisite funding for pavement renewals.

TII recognises that alleviating urban congestion will increasingly focus on encouraging a modal shift to public transport, walking and cycling for commuting and short distance trips. It will seek to build on the success of the Luas and continue to support and promote the delivery of high quality public transport in urban areas, including the new metro north and other Luas extensions. However, there remains a need to address sections of urban national roads where existing bottlenecks diminish the strategic function of the network as it serves and facilitates a growing economy. Our studies have identified a number of schemes where enhanced management of and improvements to the key urban national road links are required. Furthermore, the construction of minor improvement projects on the network contributes to the overall safety of the network.

Efficient and reliable transport infrastructure is recognised as a key driver of economic growth. A well functioning transport network secures connectivity between different parts of a country, as well as with the rest of the world, linking people with jobs, delivering products to markets, underpinning supply chains and logistics and supporting domestic and international trade. Given the uncertainty in global economics and the potential impact of Brexit, there will inevitably be a greater reliance on the strategic transport network. Ensuring the free movement of goods and people across Ireland to both domestic and international markets is vital to strengthen the resilience of Ireland's economy. To ensure the transport network does not create bottlenecks in the future expansion of the economy, TII recommends the creation of a modest pipeline of major projects that are "ready to tender" and primed for delivery.

TII welcomes the advancement of the national planning framework. The current absence of a framework for long-term planning has impacted on the delivery of major infrastructural schemes. TII recognises the significance of the national planning framework and will continue to support the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government through active engagement and access to TII's modelling and analysis tools.

Of all land-based exports to the United Kingdom, between 65% and 80% are destined for markets outside the United Kingdom. Therefore, the introduction of hard borders could have a significant impact on the manner in which land-based exports operate. TII is progressing schemes to improve access to Cork Port at Ringaskiddy and to Foynes and constructing an upgrade to the M11 which will enhance the link between Rosslare and the capital. The continued progression of these schemes will be important in strengthening Ireland's resilience to meet the impact of Brexit. In addition, as the peripherality of Border counties could be increased, strengthening links both within and to the north west will be required to ensure these communities can be sustained. The need to upgrade substandard Border approaches has influenced our deliberations on contributions to the mid-term review of the capital investment plan.

I will now address capacity to ensure the delivery of major transport projects. As stated previously, following the merger and through our partnership with local authorities, TII is uniquely positioned to respond to ensure an increase in activity in the design and planning of major transport projects. Based on our experience of ramping up previous infrastructural programme and our in-depth knowledge of the sector, TII is comfortable regarding the capacity of the construction and engineering design sectors or the risk of cost inflation.

I have kept my opening remarks brief, but we will be happy to answer questions about any issue raised or any other matter of interest. Should we not have the information requested to hand, we will follow up with a written response.