Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I will deal with Deputy Troy's questions first. He continually looks for what he calls a vision for transport from me. There are two ways of considering this. In the transport sector, there is the long-term vision and the short-term problems, and they are very closely related. The long-term vision, obviously, must be considered not achievable in a very short period of time because of the extraordinary demands on the Exchequer and the extraordinary way in which the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport eats up the money allocated to us every year. In the short term, the outlook is obviously less fortunate and less rosy than the long term. The long-term vision is there in all the great projects which members see and which have been laid out many times before the committee. They are to deal with the accelerating demands in the transport sector from people who need services.

It is mainly in Dublin, but not exclusively, that the huge commitments have been made in the long-term capital plan to meet those demands which face us. I refer to Metro North, DART Underground and all those projects, which have not been shelved but have been postponed because of the extraordinary demands of the financial crash. They have been mentioned so often before but they will be mentioned again, and I mention them now. All these are going ahead and are part of the vision we have which must work within the limitations of the financial stringencies we have. If Deputy Troy wants to come to me at any time - thank God we have conversations about these things - with proposals as to how these could be funded at an earlier date and where the money would come from, I would be the first to welcome them and credit him with those proposals. I have no problem with that whatsoever, but that long-term vision is certainly there. However, let us be honest about it that it will not be achieved overnight. No government, whether Deputy Troy is in government or I am in government, will achieve it overnight. However, the vision is there, those commitments are there and they will be achieved within the projections that we have. The short-term problems are ones of which we are all acutely aware and which we are tackling very adequately within those budgets which are available to us.

Is the subvention adequate? The answer is "No, it is not". It would be wonderful if it were higher. I think it has gone up by 13% this year after several years of falling. I have been in negotiations, as I am sure Deputy Troy knows, about the Estimates and I hope we will be able to improve the subvention on a gradual but consistent basis in the years to come. Of course it is not adequate. I would like it to be a lot larger. Our plans have had to be put off several times but they are there, and the subvention, along with other forms of funding and the direct investments, are commitments which we hope to be able to fulfil. However, the subvention is not enough. It is nothing like enough. It would be much better if it were higher.

The national planning framework is due to report, I think, in the near future. I am not sure of the exact date, but the Department has a role in that and a member on its steering committee.

The national planning framework is a successor to the national spatial strategy and provides a blueprint for development in Ireland for the next 20 years. It is an absolutely vital part of what we do and it is vital for planning transport. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, is leading this work and the cross-departmental group has been established. I understand a public consultation document is being considered by that group with a view to a full public consultation on that. We will have a very important input because transport and national planning frameworks are very closely integrated.

Bus Éireann made a presentation to me on 12 September, if I have the date wrong forgive me, and told me about the work in progress. I gave no indication of approval or disapproval. It told me the dire state in which it found itself and I listened. I did not approve or disapprove any plans it might have had. It did not have a completed plan of any sort. It was simply reporting to me what was going on. That is the extent of the interaction I had.