Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present the 2023 Estimate for the Department of Transport and for programme D of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Taking transport first, the budget is set out in five programmes. They are: programme A, sustainable mobility, active travel and greenways; programme B, carbon reduction and public transport; programme C, road safety and road networks; programme D, civil aviation; and programme E, maritime safety and transport. The set of transport Estimates before the committee provides an overall gross allocation to the Department of Transport of €3.51 billion, which constitutes €894 million in current expenditure and €2.62 billion in capital. The allocation will support our ambitions in delivering on the transport-related objectives in the national development plan, NDP, and the climate action plan, delivering safe, sustainable and accessible transport options in urban and rural areas. It will support our ambitions in maintaining and enhancing road, aviation, safety, security and connectivity.

I will turn first to active travel and greenways, where some €358.665 million is allocated under this programme. My Department continues to deliver on the programme for Government commitment of spending €360 million per year on active travel. Strategic programmes such as the safe routes to school programme will support the design of integrated networks that will greatly enhance safety and accessibility and make active travel an attractive alternative to the private car. The major urban projects to continue construction include the Clontarf to Amiens Street route in Dublin and the MacCurtain Street scheme in Cork. Construction will commence on over 50 front-of-school treatments under the safe routes to school programme and progress will continue on the now extensive pipeline of greenway projects under the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII.

In addition to major infrastructure projects in planning or actively under construction, the model that many countries now pursue involves making tactical interventions in urban areas at low cost to deliver quick active travel wins. I have worked with the Department, our agencies and local councils in developing suitable pathfinder projects in this space that can be delivered quickly and at relatively low cost. My intention is that these demonstrator projects will pave the way for more widespread behavioural change in how we engage with transport as a society.

Programme B covers sustainable mobility, carbon reduction and public transport. Approximately €1.607 billion has been allocated to this carbon reduction and public transport programme. Some €114.772 million is allocated to carbon reduction measures, including supporting the continued rate in growth of electric vehicles, EVs. In 2023, the focus will start to move away from investing in grants for private vehicles to investing in public EV charging infrastructure, in accordance with the EV infrastructure strategy. Some €563.774 million is allocated in PSO funding. The 20% discount on public transport fares is retained for 2023.

BusConnects spines will continue to roll out with the planned introduction of south Dublin city orbital routes. Design and consultation will continue on BusConnects for regional cities. A business case for Connecting Ireland will be brought to Cabinet in accordance with the public spending code. Some €876.504 million is allocated to public transport investment. Despite well-documented concerns around speed of delivery of investment across the NDP, in 2022, my Department successfully invested over €2.4 billion. The year will see more key public spending code and planning milestones in public transport projects presently under development. The balance of the 41 intercity railcars will be delivered, facilitating an increase in capacity on the intercity network.

Construction will continue on the national train control centre and tenders will be issued for the redevelopment of Ceannt Station. The Cork commuter rail project, part funded through the EU’s national recovery and resilience programme, will also be progressed. The NTA will submit planning applications for the remaining Dublin BusConnects core bus corridors. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, lodged a railway order with An Bord Pleanála in September and aims to bring MetroLink to decision gate 2 of the public spending code, pre-tender approval. A second round of public consultation will take place on the proposed Cork BusConnects network, while €15 million will be invested in rail and public transport accessibility projects.

In programme C, road safety and road networks, approximately €1.387 billion is allocated to roads and road safety. This funding will maintain and renew the national, regional and local road surfaces; undertake safety works and bridge maintenance and rehabilitation; meet our contractual obligations under public private partnerships, PPP, that delivered parts of our motorway network; fund the construction of new national and regional and local roads; and fund vital safety-related services.

A sum of €240 million has been allocated to the construction of new national roads and €70 million for regional and local road improvement schemes. Construction is continuing on a number of major roads, including the Dunkettle interchange and the N5 Westport to Turlough, the Listowel bypass and N59 Moycullen bypass. Projects with planning approval that will continue to progress towards construction phase include the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy road and the re-tendered N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge. An allocation of €288.965 million has been made to protection and renewal of national roads, with €555.916 million allocated for regional and local roads and an additional €120.194 million provided for PPP operational payments. In relation to road safety, as well as funding for driver licensing services, €7.3 million has been provided to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety to support its vital work in the area of detecting drug and alcohol misuse by drivers. My Department will work closely with the Road Safety Authority, RSA, on all matters related to road safety.

In programme D, civil aviation, €53.443 million is allocated to aviation. This year will see the commencement of a review of the national aviation policy and the mid-term review of the regional airports policy to ensure the key policies underpinning the aviation sector support delivery of national and regional aviation objectives. As the aviation sector continues to recover from the impact of Covid-19, the amount of current expenditure funding available in emergency supports is significantly down again in 2023. The regional airports programme provides targeted supports to regional airports that handle fewer than 1 million passengers annually. Shannon Airport is eligible to participate in the programme in 2023, alongside Knock, Kerry and Donegal airports. The funding facilitates operational grants and public service obligation funding, as well as investment in a wide variety of safety and security and sustainability related capital projects. A significant security project at Cork Airport will also be supported in 2023. A sum of €11.171 million is allocated to fund services such as air accident insurance and membership of key international organisations.

In programme E, maritime transport and safety, €109.825 million is allocated for this year. Most of that funding is directed to the Coast Guard. This includes delivery of the helicopter contract incorporating search and rescue and air ambulance support to the HSE and the island communities. It also includes investment in the Commissioner of Irish Lights and marine casualty investigations. While it is not directly Exchequer funded by this Department, I am keen to highlight the importance of offshore renewable energy and my Department will work with relevant stakeholders where necessary to progress this critical area. While ports are not directly funded by the Exchequer in the national development plan, NDP, it is my view that in any future reviews of the NDP all options should be kept on the table and all avenues explored to ensure that offshore renewable energy is supported strategically, given its potential for addressing future energy requirements, decarbonisation, improving our security of supply and providing job creation in the emerging industries of the future.

On Vote 29, which falls under the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the aim of programme D is to deliver world-class connectivity and communications. To achieve this, just under €294 million is allocated in 2023. This consists of €23.4 million in current expenditure and €270.4 million in capital expenditure. The largest capital expenditure item within this programme is the national broadband plan, at just over €212 million. This investment will continue to progress the roll-out of the fibre broadband network during 2023. Since 2021, more than 120,000 premises have become available for order and pre-order through local broadband service providers across 26 counties. National Broadband Ireland, NBI, is committed to delivering an additional 83,000 premises in 2023. The Government’s objective is that by 2028, through a combination of investment by commercial operators and the national broadband plan, every premises in Ireland will have access to gigabit broadband.

Two new items of capital expenditure are included in the Estimates, both of which relate to An Post. Funding of just under €24 million is provided under the EU Brexit adjustment reserve and €10 million is provided for the post office network. The Government is committed to a sustainable post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. In line with this commitment in the programme for Government, an amount of €10 million annually will be provided over the period 2023 to 2025.

The 2023 Estimates also include nearly €11 million in operational funding for the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, nearly €3.6 million for the Digital Hub Development Agency and €3.5 million for the National Digital Research Centre. The National Cyber Security Centre is responsible for leading in the management of major cyber security incidents across government. It provides guidance and advice to citizens and businesses on major cyber security incidents and develops strong international relationships in the global cyber security community. The National Cyber Security Centre is undergoing a period of expansion and development in line with the Government decision taken in July 2021. By the end of 2022, staffing in the National Cyber Security Centre had increased to 43 and it will increase by an additional 20 by the end of this year.

I am happy to take any questions relating to the 2023 Estimates for either Department.