Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Since we have a quorum we will now go into public session. This meeting has been convened to consider the Supplementary Estimate for Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. I remind members that these are supplementary rather than the totality of the Estimates. As we are in public session I am requesting that all mobile phones are turned off.

Item No. 1, consideration of the Supplementary Estimate, Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. I welcome the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and his officials, and thank them for attending and assisting in our consideration of the Supplementary Estimate 2014. Briefing material providing details of the Supplementary Estimate has been circulated to members as well as the Minister's statement on the Supplementary Estimate. As these have been circulated to members, and as our time is limited, I propose that we go directly to questions, if that is alright. Deputy Dooley----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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May I make my opening statement?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Yes, thank you. I apologise - I was taking directions there.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thought it would be mutually helpful for everybody if I did that.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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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.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There was an interesting article in today’s Financial Timesby Larry Summers, a former United States Secretary of the Treasury, in which he spoke of the need for developed economies all over the world to invest in public transport and infrastructure projects. I did not have an opportunity to include it in my text but he made the point similar to Deputy Dooley’s, namely, that if one does not get to a point of maintaining existing infrastructure, then the cost to society and those who depend on that infrastructure really begins to build up. We have a strong transport infrastructure in place which costs money to maintain. If we do not maintain it, let alone look at new projects for the future, we will get to a point where the costs of maintenance will increase rapidly.

That is why I was so committed to securing the budget and making progress in the Supplementary Estimate, which is a figure over €160 million. In response to the first question on where the €45 million is going, it amounts to €44.15 million. Of that, €15.9 million goes into the maintenance of the heavy rail network and €27.6 million is going to the rail car fleet. This will maintain rolling stock and carriages.

With regard to the point about Mr. Franks, I see the funding being a further significant step in looking to improve and strengthen the balance sheet of Irish Rail and the CIE group. Further discussion and work is needed in the future. This is a significant injection into the capital needs of the company to address the need for investment. Where much of the investment will be spent on the busiest part of the rail network. This will ensure it continues to be secure, safe and viable in the future.

With regard to the question about sailing, the Sports Council and the figure of €1 million, I met recently some representatives of the organisation in my constituency office. They articulated their concerns to me about the funding. This may be the same as what the Deputy has raised.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will do my best to ensure all clubs have the opportunity to access equipment. I am aware there may be a need for specialist equipment in some sports and that is something we must look into. I will engage with the sailing organisation about this and I will copy the Deputy into the communication.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand the high-performance needs of people in that sport because of the nature of it and the expensive equipment. They have a particular need and as we get into the detail of the money will be spent, I will bear in mind the Deputy's point. I will ensure he is made aware of anything that happens.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the Deputy's question on the roads programme, we must continue to rebuild investment in our local, national roads and regional roads. The programme we announced continues investment in a wide variety of roles across the country but I acknowledge that in the coming years the investment must be maintained and, in some areas, increased. In the multi-annual capital plan that the Government is beginning work on, I hope to give an indication of our commitment to doing so.

With regard to penalty points, which were the subject of understandable media focus today, I have been made aware of some issues with regard to the implementation of some penalty points. My overall objective is to protect road safety and ensure all we say and do recognises the need to keep people safe. I have requested advice from the Attorney General and I expect the formal advice tomorrow. When I have it, I will arrange a briefing for Opposition spokespersons on this matter. If and when I become clear, and receive formal advice from the Attorney General about what can be done, I will ensure the Opposition spokespersons are briefed. I am happy to brief any member of the committee if I need to take action on this in the Dáil and the Seanad next week.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister and his staff for attending. Nearly every year, there is a supplement. The €162 million is being divided up, with public transport and road improvements receiving huge extra amounts of money. Where do we get this money? Is it purely from the lottery or the sale of assets? Can the Minister explain how we have dug up this money? With regard to road improvement and maintenance funds, will any of it go to local authorities? We have many issues with local and regional roads and local roads have a huge number of potholes that have never been tackled. Meath is one of the worst in the country. Will any of this address that point or does it apply to the maintenance of main roads, the paths and road surfaces? If any money is given to local authorities, we have issues with ramps that were destroyed over the past number of years. In the past, Dublin City Council got a stimulus to deal with it. Will any of this funding make its way to that end?

Newlands Cross is an example of how a project has worked well. We can now travel from one end of the country to another without stopping, which is fantastic. I have heard massive reports about this project. There must be a clap on the back for the people who pushed the project for so long. With regard to the €110 million public transport investment, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann are getting a fair amount. They are getting badly needed new buses. Irish Rail needs a major stimulus in the replacement of stock. I do not see a real improvement apart from minor improvements in Irish Rail. Perhaps the Minister can elaborate on this point.

Last year, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, received €3.7 million and last year it received €6.5 million. The Minister referred to savings due to the RSA raising finance. Can the Minister explain how the RSA managed to do that?

There were reports of the Minister seeking funding from Europe for two areas, including for metro north. In the past, the Minister indicated that metro north was dead and buried. Has there been an attempt made to renew it? It was mentioned that this might be something the Minister will look to Europe for. Perhaps he can quash this idea if it is untrue.

There is major debt in Irish Rail but we must invest more and see if we can improve the structure and the standard of trams.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will respond to the points made by Deputy Ellis. Of the €160 million, €40 million is stimulus funding and the balance of the funding has been made available from savings in other Departments or in relation to how the economy has performed. Specifically, the Deputy asked about where the money for roads will go. Some €20 million of the roads money will be for local and regional roads. The money will be allocated to local authorities or, for the larger national roads, through the National Roads Authority, NRA.

I appreciate Deputy Ellis making the point about Newlands Cross.

The main contractor on Newlands Cross was an Irish company called BAM construction, which I understand is based in Cork, in Deputy McCarthy's county. This project came in five months ahead of schedule and for its entire duration all of the laneways and roads through which traffic flowed were kept open. There were six lanes of traffic open continuously while that work was taking place. It is a real credit to how the project was managed and the company itself in the way that was discharged.

The Deputy correctly identified that the Road Safety Authority will be self funding. The reason that is happening is the RSA will be retaining the revenue it raises through the operation of NCT centres and driver licences in the future.

The Deputy's final question concerned Metro North and transport projects for the future. I have put it out for public consultation and would be very happy to engage with the committee on this, as I think would be the other bodies involved in this. As the Deputy will know, that part of our city currently has a very young population and it also has significant future development potential because of the amount of brown and greenfield sites that are out there. It is really important that we plan for that and begin the work now. One of the options is a proposal for a changed Metro North to reflect where the economy will be in a few years' time. When I make a decision on the lead option next year, I will begin work to try and secure funding for that within Government, because until we know what the project is and how much it will cost I cannot secure funding for it, and in order to secure funding I will look at all of the different options that will be available. I am very mindful of the fact that it is not funded now and there are many other competing demands for that money at the moment.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I was specifically referring to a report to the effect that there were two projects and that there was funding available from the EU. Metro North was mentioned, I am trying to think of the other one----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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What that comes from is that the President of the European Commission, Mr. Juncker, has announced an initiative to try and make more funding available to the EU for important infrastructure projects, out of which an amount of funding would be made available from the European institutions that would then be leveraged up. We have sent a list of options to the European Commission, but we have received no indication that funding is available for any of them at the moment and it is in the early part of the process.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I want to comment on the public transport investment programme, the €110 million which I welcome, in particular the provision of the 90 new buses for Dublin Bus. There is an increase in people going back to work and using public transport. Traffic congestion has come back again so it is important that we invest in transport infrastructure to allow people the option of leaving their cars at home and switching to public transport. That needs to be continued.

The other point I want to make was referred to by Deputy Ellis regarding the proposals announced yesterday. I welcome them, in particular the proposal to have a rail connection from Clongriffin on the Dublin-Belfast line to Dublin Airport, which is realistic in terms of cost. The land reservation is there in the Fingal County Council development plan and it would mean that Dublin Airport would have a connection to the mainline rail system, which every other capital city has. That is something I would welcome. I know it is going out to public consultation and there are other options as well, but that is certainly welcome.

Concerns have been raised by other Deputies regarding the comments and warnings made by the Irish Rail chief executive, Mr. David Franks, on the future of the rail system and the need for additional funding if the service is to be maintained. If there is a safety issue, services have to be curtailed and that is a concern. There have been a lot of savings and cost reductions in Irish Rail. I am thinking in particular of the Dublin DART system whereby manning levels have been reduced. A lot of DART stations do not have staff present and ticketing is automated. There is a particular difficulty for commuters who travel at night - if there is an unmanned station, very often there is a security risk and some people are quite concerned about travelling. In my own constituency there is a DART station in Donaghmede, Howth Junction, which at times does have safety issues at night. It is important that those issues be addressed.

I see that there is extra investment for the Luas cross-city in the subhead. Could I get some more details on that? It is a major project in the city and is causing a lot of changes in our city's traffic as well as disruption to traffic, businesses and traders and so on. I would like some more details on what the extra investment is doing.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will begin with the Deputy's point about new buses. I agree with him. As he well knows, buses carry more people that any other form of public transport in Ireland and what we are doing here is modernising the fleet of our two main public bus companies. I expect and believe this will lead to an improvement on the quality of service people see in the future.

As regards the public consultation process on the railway line, this is the very reason I decided to put options out to the public at this stage. If I look at how these decisions have been handled in the past, sometimes there is a big discussion, a lot of which can take place in private for understandable reasons, and a big decision is then made about a single project. Lots of people then have questions regarding why something else was not considered, whether certain things were taken into account and so on. By having a period of public consultation up to the middle of January I am hoping to give everybody an opportunity to put in their view. At the end of the day we are going to have to make a decision about progressing a single project. I hope the decision we make will be better informed by giving people the opportunity to send in their views.

Deputy Ellis also touched on the matter of Irish Rail and Mr. Franks, and I apologise for not fully acknowledging his question. The €45 million investment is a really substantial development in funding work that needs to be done. By making funding available from the Exchequer, we are making a very positive contribution to the balance sheet of Irish Rail and therefore to the CIE group. There will be further work and further decisions on this in the future but I am very pleased to be bringing in this funding today to build on the fact we have maintained the PSO levels for next year for the first time in many years. Now we are able to add to that with this injection of needed capital funding into the companies.

The reason for the additional €5 million funding for Luas cross-city is that, although the original budget figure was €32 million, the utility works are ahead of schedule at the moment so more funding is needed this year for that work. That brings the figure up to €37 million for this year. I take his point on the potential disruption across the city and acknowledge the huge support we have gotten from the business community in Dublin.

I personally chair a Luas cross-city working group that meets regularly to consider this matter and I am pleased to see that as Operation Open City now is up and running to make the city easier to get around during the Christmas period, much of the hoarding and work that was taking place on Dawson Street, for example, has been removed to make it easier for people to get around. However, I should add that even more work will begin in January.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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The Minister is welcome. I wish to make a couple of points that may or may not taper off into a question. On the question of the roads allocation, I welcome that there has been an increase in the spend for the first time since the crash. As for the way in which it is broken down, naturally there will be a concentration on national primary routes and similarly, there will be a concentration on regional roads thereafter. For example, an area such as west Cork has a national primary route running through it and all available funding obviously will be expended on keeping it to a standard, keeping it salted in the wintertime and so on. However, there is another structure of road not immediately visible to the eye as one traverses those routes, namely, the local tertiary roads. There is a real issue with these roads and the bridges along them that have been damaged in storms or associated inclement weather conditions that always will have a severe adverse effect on such roads and elements such as bridges along them. Invariably, there will be lobbying to bring such roads back to a level they were at before the storm, the severe frost or whatever and there is an issue in respect of expenditure with the local area engineer's office. What happens is that when an Estimate is announced, it goes back to the local authorities and in their wisdom, with their engineers and special works overseers, they decide on where the money is spent. However, there will be significant swathes of areas that will not see much of that, albeit not in geographic terms. Outside of the normal expenditure and the special allocation, this area almost would require funding in its own right to restore it to the level at which it was before the inclement weather got at it.

I ask that as the announcements filter out into the offices of area engineers, this point should be borne in mind. The area engineers will be given a budget and naturally will concentrate that towards the regional routes and the national primary routes in most cases, almost without exception, much to the detriment of local tertiary roads. A lot of damage is done to cars on those roads, which are used by milk lorries, agricultural vehicles and so on and are liable to extracurricular damage, as such. I will ask the Minister a question on the allocation to which he may be able to respond this afternoon. How much flexibility will be used by local authority members in how that allocation is spent? Will that be maintained as an executive function or will it filter down through the executive or-----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Is the Deputy referring to the community improvement schemes?

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Yes, things like that, as they manifest themselves at local level. I wish to reiterate the whole point about local tertiary roads. While it would take a normal budget allocation to maintain them to the level they should be at, it would take an additional amount of money to restore them to their level before the onset of the aforementioned inclement weather conditions.

The other issue is in respect of tourism and marketing and every penny spent by the Department over the past seven or eight years has been money well spent. There have been quarterly, biannual and annual figures and the tourism spend is increasing. In itself, that has driven the coastal social economies nationwide and this has been significant in terms of services, tourism, marinas and so on. It permeates into many areas and creates sustainable jobs in areas such as the area from which I come. Moreover, the development of tourism initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way has been outstanding. The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, visited the Old Head of Kinsale recently, where he plastered part of the wall that forms part of the Old Head Signal Tower restoration programme. It is money well spent to think that based on this initiative, there now is a product that will take someone to County Donegal and then bring him or her to the Old Head of Kinsale. This is so much the case that people who have nothing at all to do with the Wild Atlantic Way by geographic definition now wish to link into it and I wish the Minister luck in trying to find a solution to their desires.

My next point coincides with the trip by President Higgins to China, which is an absolutely huge market. There is a centre for Chinese studies in University College Cork and there is a strong Chinese population there but developing the tourism links between Ireland and China will have a huge return. This will be evident in respect of the figures and the Minister could use as an example the restoration of the American market, as well as of the domestic market between here and the United Kingdom. It was a critical challenge to bring back the latter because they also suffered as a result of the collapse and the sort of short weekend trips which people from the United Kingdom would take to visit here almost stopped. Developing and using the same strategies that were deployed to resurrect those two markets would stand to the Minister and his Department in the context of winning a crucial tourism market from China. I refer to the additional expenditure of approximately €800,000 in marketing campaigns to coincide with that trip, which is commanding huge coverage in China, not to mind the significant element of coverage here. How much of that expenditure will be spent in 2014 and will any of it go into the start of 2015? Allied to that, in respect of the State visits the President undoubtedly will make in 2015, will there be allocations of funding? Will consideration be given for additional funding for those trips because the return would be absolutely huge and every penny spent in that regard would be spent well?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his questions and I will come to each in turn. His first question pertained to the allocation of capital funding for regional and local roads. I entirely take his point that one must be aware of the more local roads or, shall I say, the non-national roads or tertiary roads in respect of where money is going and how it is spent. This is something of which I have been aware since becoming Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I believe one of the country's leading capital needs concerns how to maintain what we have. This is important in so many different areas, including road safety and the maintenance of basic connectivity and safe connectivity across the country. As for how much of the funding I am announcing today and for which I am seeking the sub-committee's approval will go to regional and local roads, in total €32.1 million will be going to that area, of which €12 million pertains to restoration out of which the allocation for community improvement schemes amounts to €6 million. The allocation to deal with the aftermath and consequences of severe weather is €14.1 million, which takes the figure up to €32.1 million. On how that money is spent and in respect of the Deputy's second question regarding the role of local Members and of local authority members, my Department plays a role in setting out what is the template for the scheme or in other words, what contribution one would ask people to make or not make. As for where the money is spent within the county, however, I would expect local councillors to play a leading role in that regard. Even though this is an area for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, I certainly would be interested in the operation of the scheme and in whether the Deputy has observations on it because I would expect local authority councillors either to be influencing substantially where the money will go or to be involved directly in the decision-making on it.

In respect of the Deputy's points on tourism, I completely agree with his comments. At present, there is an understandable amount of focus on the need for balanced regional economic development and one extraordinary thing about tourism is it is one of the main parts of the economy that offers the potential to engage in and influence every town and all counties nationwide. This is why I am so pleased to see the progress of an initiative such as the Wild Atlantic Way in an environment in which politicians, in particular those of us who are in parties in government, always are being asked for more money to do particular things. The beauty of the Wild Atlantic Way for me is that while it did need more money, what it really needed and what is happening is a new way of thinking about what we have and then advertising it better. It has been an extraordinary success with many years to come ahead of it.

On the Deputy's detailed question regarding where money would be going and how it would be used, the success of President Higgins in China already is apparent. As to whether any of this money will be used in following up on that success, the answer to that question definitely is "Yes". Out of the funding of €800,000, some of it will be used on an inter-agency initiative, including, for example, Bord Bia, Science Foundation Ireland and Tourism Ireland, to put together a consumer video advertisement to coincide with the President's visit to China to make the most of that visit.

On Deputy McCarthy's question about how much of this money will be spent this year, all of it will be. It has been requested as a Supplementary Estimate for this year, so the €800,000 will be spent this year.

On the follow-up of State visits, when we know all the plans for President Higgins for next year, we will ensure that there is a tourism dimension to that. The head of Tourism Ireland is part of President Higgins's delegation to China. Tourism is very important for a country of our size, which is so heavily integrated into the global economy and dependent on its ability to win consumers in overseas markets, and it is superb to see the work President Higgins is doing in this area. He is just back from Africa, where he was doing very important work in one area and now he is following that up with different work abroad, in China, which is being supported by Government Ministers.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I also welcome the additional funding for our public transport. Coming in from Meath in the mornings, I notice it is taking longer and longer to get in and the traffic is extending back towards the edge of the city, so anything that can improve public transport for people, or mean that they do not have to take their cars to work, will benefit everybody.

I am delighted that one of the main focuses for the Minister's Department is restoring our roads. We can never have enough money for roads. It is an issue that will always be at the forefront of many of our wish lists. We have a serious number of local and regional roads in north Meath, so every little bit helps. Last year our own county council would have made a special request to the Department for additional funding. We would have made a special case. Is this something the Minister's Department is looking at this year, or will it be split equally among the Departments based on the funding they are receiving at the moment?

Does the additional €1 million for equipment for sports groups and clubs extend to organisations that look after children with disabilities or special needs? For example, there is an organisation in the town of Kells called Special Hands, which works with children with intellectual and physical disabilities. At the moment they are seeking funding for equipment for the pool, to help children get in and out of the water. Does the funding stretch to that or is the Department just looking at football clubs and so on?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her questions. On the issue of congestion, one of the major issues I have stressed in my work to date is the need to decrease congestion and increase growth. This feeds into all the decisions I am presenting for the committee's approval today in relation to where I want to put the money I have and additional money. The Deputy has raised the needs of her county with me on many occasions. While I have received contact from the Deputy on many occasions on that particular part of her county and her own constituency, I have not yet received an additional formal request from the local authority in relation to needs for next year. Our position in the overall process is that once we have, hopefully, received the committee's approval, we will continue to work to decide where funding will be allocated for next year. I will be engaging with my officials on that matter in the coming week. I know the Deputy feels strongly about this issue and that the needs of her county in this respect are great, so I am aware of the point she has made to me.

On the allocation of funding for public transport, many of the needs her county will continue to have in the future will relate to a better bus service, the maintenance and improvement of the rail service, and maintenance of the road network. With this Supplementary Estimate, we hope to make a big contribution to putting in place an approved balance sheet for a public transport companies to deal with that and meeting the commitments we have already made in relation to stimulus funding. I hope that in the multi-annual capital plan the Government will publish early next year we will be able to give better guidance to some of the commuters the Deputy mentioned regarding how we will better plan for the future. That is my objective and it is something on which the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, wants to work with me.

I cannot answer the Deputy's question regarding funding for special needs now, because the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, will be involved in making decisions in this area, but I will pass on the point she has made to him.