Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. As they know, this is the Committee of Public Accounts. It is all about value for money for us. I want to point out to Mr. Spratt that I sat in on a meeting of the Committee on Transport and Communications for my colleague last week. Representatives from TII and the NTA were before the committee. I suggested to Nigel O'Neill of TII that there is an issue with toll barriers because we pay in excess of €600 million per year for exceeding nitrogen oxide, NOx, emissions above what is allowed under EU rules. I was astounded to hear Mr. O'Neill respond that the barriers at Dublin Port Tunnel are there for traffic management and control. I advised him that I have been all over Europe and many parts of the world and that I have never seen a toll barrier used to control traffic in a tunnel. I ask that this be revised. I am sure Mr. O'Neill has gone back and had a conversation about it. I calculate that it is costing the transport industry €92 million per year for toll barriers in this country. That is what it is costing to stop and expend a litre of fuel and that is just in money. I do not have the measure of what it is costing in lung health and health issues that NOx emissions contribute to but I am sure the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, does. I would like the Department to come back to the committee and let us know what it is going to do about the situation and what actions it will take because the EPA has provided a report which states that we are exceeding our NOx emissions and that those emissions are primarily caused by transport. That is primarily what we are being fined for and these are the targets we are setting. I am not aware of anything the Department has provided to the sector as an incentive to be cleaner and greener. I ask the Department to submit that information.

Peter Walsh from TII also appeared before the Committee on Transport and Communications. There is a major issue at Rosslare Europort. Mr. Spratt will be aware that there has been a 400% increase in traffic there because of Brexit. The Government has spent €11 million, through the Office of Public Works, OPW, providing a state-of-the-art facility for our regulatory agencies, facilities that one could only have dreamed of years ago. I am not sure what the acreage is but it is substantial. It is empty all of the time while our hauliers have drivers in situin lay-bys trying to comply with tachograph rules and trying to find somewhere to park if the ship is late, which happens with the weather at this time of year. The biggest sufferance is for the residents. They have refrigerated vehicles running outside their doors because these trucks have nowhere to park. We have spent €11 million on a yard that is at least 85% empty. I propose that it needs to be adapted to accommodate the traffic which the NTA and TII are responsible for accommodating.

Nothing has been done. I invited Mr. Walsh to come Rosslare to meet the local county councillors and gardaí and put a traffic management plan in place. There is a serious road safety issue. We should not waste the taxpayers money; rather, we should utilise it to the best of our ability. There is no need for more facilities. At most we might need to erect a fence but I do not even see the need for that. We have customs agents in control in the facility itself. The facilities are there for the drivers when they have to go through the regulation process, including toilet facilities. We need to start to think with the taxpayer in mind and I ask that Mr. Spratt would take charge of that because Mr. Walsh was not forthcoming about travelling down to meet the elected representatives in Rosslare, myself included, who are tasked with looking after the area.

I have written to both last week and I will send on the correspondence.

The other point I would like to mention is that the funding granted for regional airports was €90 million. What funding is available to Waterford Airport and the south east from that funding?

Waterford Airport is also home to the Coast Guard Sikorsky rescue helicopter R117. Given the increase in traffic at Rosslare Europort, it now takes on a whole new level of importance given that it is based in that area and in light of the amount of time a helicopter might need to travel as a result of the increased capacity of direct routes from Rosslare to France. Mr. Clonan, in particular, might let me know if he agrees with that. There must be a special place for this service now in Waterford Airport. I visited there during the recess and I am very concerned on two levels. The helicopter is housed at the behest of Waterford Regional Airport. The Coast Guard is basically renting a hangar to house the helicopter. I accept An Bord Pleanála has not decided on the application. Funding was committed by the Department for an extension of the runway, but if the airport is closed, will the commitment still hold? How much is the funding? Could the witnesses assure the people in the south-east region, and those who traverse the high seas, that there will be no interference or diminution of the Coast Guard service in the south-east region at Waterford Airport? I would welcome a response to that question.