Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the committee for the chance to present the Revised Estimates for 2018 for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The 2018 provision for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport comprises an overall gross allocation of €2.03 billion. This is to be used to provide investment in critical infrastructure and to ensure that vital services are available to the public during 2018. The €2.03 billion represents an increase of more than 11% on gross expenditure levels from 2017. This is an increase of 3.4%, or €23 million, in current or day-to-day expenditure, while capital or investment expenditure will increase by over €197 million, or 17%. This additional funding across all sectors will help us to invest and expand services this year beyond what was conceivable only a few years ago. In following years, there will be a significant intensification in activity.

I wish to say a few words about Project Ireland 2040 which, as members are aware, includes the national planning framework and the ten-year national development plan, NDP. The programme of investment set out in the NDP will result in a comprehensive road, bus and rail network. This will provide a high level of service to all regions and will link the regions to one another, as well as to Dublin. It will be delivered progressively to match transport demand and deliver benefits steadily over the next decade. This investment in transport will improve accessibility to every part of the country. In the context of Brexit, this is crucial for the transport and tourism sectors. This is supported by the non-Exchequer investments set out in the tier 1 area of the NDP, namely, ports and their access routes. Similarly the improved access to airports will facilitate access to tourism and export markets.

I will now briefly address the five programmes of investment in my Department and the funding levels and plans we have for 2018.

The civil aviation programme has an allocation of €28 million this year. The largest element of the programme is the regional airports programme at €13.6 million. Funding is also earmarked to cover costs associated with our membership of Eurocontrol, other subscriptions to international organisations and costs incurred by the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, for exempt services. The State reimburses the IAA for communication and air navigation services in respect of exempted classes of users, that is, military and state aircraft. The key priority for investment in the aviation programme over the short to medium term is to facilitate continued safe and viable operations at the regional airports and to maintain air access to relatively remote regions, specifically counties Donegal and Kerry.

The land transport programme, which is the largest programme by far in my Department’s Vote and represents 81% of my overall budget, will increase this year by €203 million or 14% to €1.66 billion. A large portion of this is capital investment. The main components of the programme are roads improvement and maintenance funding with an overall budget of €883 million, the public transport investment programme at €401 million and public service provision payments at €300 million. The programme also includes provision of €5.5 million towards the carbon reduction programme and operating costs of the national vehicle driver licensing system at €19 million.

In respect of public transport, I secured increased multi-annual capital investment funding envelopes for the coming four-year period. This includes providing an enhanced capital envelope of €2.7 billion for a multi-modal public transport investment programme between 2018 and 2021. The four-year envelope will allocate investment to protect the quality and value of our existing public transport networks. Programmes to be funded include BusConnects, MetroLink, DART expansion, ongoing retrofitting of older existing public transport facilities to improve their accessibility features, as well as cycling and walking and traffic management measures, both in our capital and nationwide. These programmes will be implemented by Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority, NTA, which has statutory responsibility for development of public transport in the greater Dublin area.

This year, I secured an 8% increase in the overall Exchequer funding for public service obligation, PSO, services across the bus and rail networks. These services have grown in recent years, and the increase in funding in 2018 brings the cumulative increase over the three years from 2016 to 2018 to €75 million, or 36%. That means that a total of more than €285 million will be allocated in 2018 to support the delivery of these socially necessary but financially unviable services. It is of course also an area which requires ongoing scrutiny to ensure the taxpayer receives value for money in respect of the services delivered, given the considerable expenditure incurred. As is normal, the precise allocations to the companies, including Iarnród Éireann, will be decided by the NTA in accordance with the various contract arrangements that it has in place with PSO service providers. Additionally, rural transport services that respond to local needs have also increased and we will continue to support these through enhanced funding.

In respect of roads, my main priority remains the maintenance and safety of the network. The 2018 allocation will allow approximately 2,300 km of the regional and local road network to be maintained and approximately 2,100 km to be strengthened. Major capital roads projects to be progressed include the Naas bypass widening, Sallins bypass and Osberstown interchange project, the upgrading of the Nangor and Adamstown roads near Grange Castle Business Park; and two public private partnership, PPP, projects which are under construction, namely, the New Ross bypass and the Gorey to Enniscorthy project, the Gort to Tuam PPP having been completed and the route opened. Planning, design, land acquisition and advance works will continue on other major capital plan schemes including the Dunkettle scheme, the N22 Ballyvourney to Macroom scheme, the N4 from Collooney to Castlebaldwin scheme and the N5 from Westport to Turlough scheme.

I will now comment on road safety. The operations of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety are within the remit of my Department. While the funding for these two bodies is small, at just over €5 million, the work achieved by both is huge and vitally important. I note the RSA has significant revenue-raising powers. Last year, 2017, was the safest year on Ireland’s roads since road deaths were first recorded in 1959, with 159 deaths. While even one death is too many, I hope this trend in decreased road deaths continues. We will continue to support those bodies in achieving their goals.

The key funding priorities for the maritime transport and safety programme in 2018 are the maintenance of the Irish Coast Guard's search and rescue helicopter service, the continuation of the Coast Guard building programme for volunteers and an annual contribution of more than €7 million towards the costs of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. Of the €96 million provided for the maritime, transport and safety programme,€66 million is provided for the Irish Coast Guard's helicopter search and rescue contract. Current expenditure of €3.5 million is provided for to meet the operational costs and training of volunteer Irish Coast Guard units. The capital allocation of €5 million will be used to meet the building and renovation costs of Irish Coast Guard stations, replace and upgrade search and rescue-related equipment, develop new IT systems and procure other equipment relating to the Irish Coast Guard's remit. My Department continues to support the excellent work carried out by the Irish Coast Guard and its volunteer cadre. Its work was seen during the recent Storm Emma weather alert, where it supported local communities, principal response agencies and the emergency services.

The sports programme shows an increase from 2017 of more than €3 million to €111 million. The sports capital programme is the primary means of providing Government funding to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level. In November and December 2017, the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, and I announced €60 million in allocations under the 2017 round of the sports capital programme to more than 1,800 different sporting projects. The investment envelope covers these awards and commitments made under earlier rounds of the programme. The capital envelope for sport also provides €4 million to meet all existing commitments under the local authority swimming pool programme. Further funding of €5 million was made available for sports measures through dormant accounts funding, mainly towards supporting the implementation of the national physical activity plan in disadvantaged communities.

As for future investment, the recently published national development plan contains a commitment to establish a new large scale sport infrastructure fund for which at least €100 million will be available during the roll-out of the NDP. My officials will draft the terms and conditions of this new fund over the coming months. This fund will be for larger projects where the proposed Government contribution would exceed the amount currently available for projects under the sports capital programme. The allocation for Sport Ireland will allow it to continue to address its key priorities of increasing participation in sport and developing and supporting high performance sport in Ireland. Work commenced in July 2017 on the development of phase 2 of the national indoor arena, which is due for completion in mid-2019. This phase will see the construction of full-sized and half-sized covered synthetic pitches, capable of accommodating all field sports, together with changing facilities, offices, meeting rooms etc.

I turn to the tourism services programme. The overall envelope for tourism this year will be €134 million, which represents an increase of €12 million on 2017. This includes an allocation of €3.6 million for greenways. Greenways have been a stand-out success story and a new development strategy is being worked on at present. The draft strategy should be published and available within the next few weeks. The €134 million allocation for the tourism programme will allow Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to continue to develop Ireland's tourism industry, driven by the further development and promotion of the signature experience brands Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East. Last Thursday, I launched Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, a new tourism brand that will significantly enhance the midlands and bring jobs and economic growth to the whole region.

As we are all aware, Brexit is a significant challenge and Tourism Ireland has a programme of marketing activity in place for 2018. This programme will ensure Ireland is marketed appropriately in Great Britain while seeking to build on the successful strategy of market diversification implemented since 2014. Fáilte Ireland also launched a "Get Brexit ready" programme of business supports to provide all the relevant information and insights businesses will need. Last year, I said that 2016 had been an exceptional year for overseas visitors. Today, I am happy to be able to say that 2017 was a record-breaking year. The pattern is continuing in the early months of 2018. The CSO recently confirmed that, in the two months to the end of February 2018, the total number of trips to Ireland increased by 7.9% when compared with the same period in 2017.

To conclude, in 2017 we made good progress across all the programmes under my Department's remit. I have secured in budget 2018 increased multi-annual capital investment funding envelopes for the coming four-year period and look forward to progressing the major infrastructural projects included in the NDP. I expect to see continued momentum across all sectors. I am happy to answer any questions in respect of the 2018 Estimate.