Dáil debates

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Priority Questions

Departmental Funding

1:00 pm

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport the amount of the €75million provided for transport projects under the jobs initiative that was reallocated from existing funds within his budget; and the schemes or projects that will be affected by this reallocation of funds. [13862/11]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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All of the €75 million provided for transport projects under the jobs initiative was reallocated from existing funds within my Department's overall capital allocation as follows. Some €40 million savings on the national roads budget for 2011 had been provided for close-out payments on projects already completed and is not now required in 2011. Some €10 million savings came from Luas projects due to appropriate substitution by unused section 49 levies, €11 million savings came from purchases of equipment including the purchase of new buses now due for delivery in 2012 instead of 2011, €7 million savings due on allocations for metro north and the Marlborough Street bridge projects due to revised work programmes and delays, €7 million saving on allocations for contingency and for design and planning of public transport projects, amounting to €75 million. This was identified for reallocation following a detailed review by my Department of all capital allocations for 2011 in consultation with relevant agencies funded by my Department. The €75 million has now been allocated to shovel-ready labour-intensive transport projects, which will create approximately 1,000 jobs in 2011. Of the total, €60 million has been provided to local authorities to repair regional and local roads across Ireland damaged in the past two severe winters, along with €15 million for improvements to train stations, traffic management and smarter travel projects, mainly in cities and towns, to facilitate public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister provide more detail on the €40 million from the national roads projects? From what projects was the money saved? I am familiar with a number of national road projects which are shovel-ready, with some in my constituency. I do not want to be parochial but the council is having difficulty having safety works carried out. Recently there was an accident, which could have been more serious, when a car toppled from the road into a water course. I understand it has not been possible to get funding from the National Roads Authority, NRA, because it did not have the appropriate funding identified early in the budgeting process.

I welcome funding being made available more quickly to shovel-ready projects but there are some within the national roads programme which could have received some of that money. I am somewhat confused that the NRA had money lying around and was not able to allocate it. That seems to have been the position.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the €40 million, this came from funding allocated to final close-out payments for motorways and the inter-urban motorway network in the main. These final payments go to arbitration as costs are estimated in advance. As it turned out, after arbitration less money was owed for those roads than was anticipated. The decision was then to be made as to whether the €40 million would be reallocated to a small number of national road projects or spread across the 30 or so local authorities to allow them repair 1,000 km of local and regional roads. On balance, it was preferable to spread the money over the approximately 1,000 km of local and regional roads that had to be repaired as opposed to just allocating the money to two or three national road projects that probably would not have even commenced this year. Road maintenance can be done quickly but full new projects take time to commence. Some local authorities have sought reallocation within the funds given to them and we are happy to consider that.