Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to introduce the Roads Bill 2014, the main purpose of which is to merge the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, with the National Roads Authority, NRA, by dissolving the RPA and transferring its functions and staff to the NRA. It also provides a timely opportunity to update existing provisions in the Roads Acts.

Almost six years ago, in March 2008,1 had the privilege of publishing a policy document for Fine Gael entitled, Streamlining Government. It was the first occasion on which any of the main political parties had sought to tackle the increasing proliferation of State agencies and the democratic deficit associated with that proliferation. The document set out proposals to reduce the number of State agencies and improve their accountability and governance structures. This programme was in part but not in heart adopted by the previous Government. It became a cornerstone of the Fine Gael manifesto in 2011 and was subsequently included in the programme for Government.

The Bill is part of our overall efficiency and reform agenda. In November 2011 the Government set out certain commitments in relation to agency rationalisation under the public sector reform plan. The main commitment under the plan was implementation of 48 specific restructuring measures which included the merger of the NRA and the RPA. Apart from a small number of cases, in respect of which the Government decided not to proceed, all of the original 48 measures, involving over 100 bodies, have either been fully delivered or will be delivered this year. On 14 January the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform published the Government's new public service reform plan for the period 2014 to 2016 and the second progress report on the previous reform plan. The new reform plan builds on the progress made to date.

In my Department the merger of the NRA and the RPA is just one of a number of agency restructuring projects under way or concluded. I have already incorporated Dublin Tourism into Fáilte Ireland, Coaching Ireland has transferred to the Irish Sports Council, while Dundalk Port has been amalgamated with Dublin Port Company. I have also transferred Baltimore and Skibbereen Harbour and Kinsale Harbour to Cork County Council. Harbours at Tralee-Fenit and Arklow have been transferred to their respective local authorities, while Bantry Bay Harbour has been transferred to the Port of Cork. In the coming weeks the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Michael Ring, will publish legislation to merge the Irish Sports Council and the National Sport Campus Development Authority. I also intend to complete the merger of Shannon Airport and Shannon Development before the summer. Later this year I propose to publish legislation to provide for the transfer of four ports of regional significance, Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway and New Ross, to local authority control.

At the last count, there were 40 fewer State agencies than was the case three years ago. This is the first Government in the history of the State under which the number of State agencies has decreased. It is my intention that the agencies within the remit of my Department are lean, efficient and fit for purpose. They must also be flexible enough to deal with challenges and changed circumstances as they arise.

Turning specifically to the merger of the NRA and the RPA, there is a need to restructure the institutional framework in the transport sector, particularly in the light of the significantly reduced capital investment programme. The rationale behind the merger of the NRA and RPA recognises these changed circumstances. It also ensures that core technical and professional skills will be retained in the public sector to support the future development of transport infrastructure, particularly as the country now emerges from recession.

The merger is being progressed through the dissolution of the RPA, which is a commercial State body, and the transfer of its functions and staff to the NRA. The newly expanded NRA will use the name "Transport Infrastructure Service" to better reflect its expanded functions. The statutory name of the National Roads Authority is not being changed and it will continue to be instituted under the Roads Acts as a non-commercial State agency under the aegis of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and its successors.

Although the RPA is being dissolved, the merger with the NRA ensures that the value created over the years by RPA in terms of organisational and project management skills will be retained, leading to the development of a new body. This body will be a leader in Ireland for planning, delivery and management of road and light rail infrastructure. The merger proposals also seek to provide the best and most efficient use of scarce public resources.

The new organisation will benefit considerably from having a range of specialist skills and technical expertise at its disposal. The technical areas of expertise include project management, transport planning, negotiation and management of PPP contracts, engineering design and advice, environmental procedures and property acquisition and management. The expanded range of in-house expertise available to the new organisation should lead to a reduction in the need for procurement of external contractors, often known as consultants. The new body will be encouraged to seek out opportunities to provide technical support, advice and services to other bodies on a commercial basis.

I have established an implementation group to devise and execute plans for the integration of both bodies. The group is currently finalising a proposed new organisational structure in consultation with officials in my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I fully recognise that human resource issues require sensitivity and careful consideration in any restructuring process. The transfer of a commercial State body into the non-commercial sector is uncommon and it presents some challenges.

Effective communication and consultation between management and staff is key to achieving seamless integration of two separate entities and I expect all parties to continue to work together to execute a successful merger. I recognise the efforts that both organisations have made in reducing staff numbers in recent years, both in response to the reduced levels of capital investment and in readiness for the merger. Total staff numbers of the combined organisations have decreased from 435 when this merger was first mooted to the current level of approximately 290, with 105 in the NRA and 185 in the RPA. A voluntary severance scheme in RPA, which is currently nearing completion, will further reduce staff numbers prior to the merger. It is anticipated that once the merger has bedded down it will produce further efficiencies through the rationalisation of management structures and administrative support services, such as human resources and information technology services. On the day of its dissolution, all RPA staff will transfer to the NRA on no less favourable terms and conditions than those they held immediately prior to the merger.

During the merger process the agencies will not be distracted from performing their day-to­day functions, including the delivery of various important transport infrastructure projects set out under the Government's current five-year capital plan, Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16: Medium Term Exchequer Framework. In this context, RPA is currently active in overseeing the Luas cross-city project alongside the National Transport Authority. This is the key public transport project prioritised under the investment programme. It will create a Luas network by linking the two existing Luas red and green lines in the city centre and will connect with the railway at Broombridge station, thereby connecting the Connolly-Maynooth line to the Luas network. It will also link with rail services from Maynooth and Dunboyne and existing quality bus corridor, QBC, schemes which enter or cross Dublin city centre. It will have 13 stops along its route, including one serving the new Dublin Institute of Technology, DIT, at Grangegorman. The project is progressing well and within agreed timelines. The essential advance works are underway, with the building condition and cellar in-fill works already completed. The utilities contract commenced at eight locations in the city centre on 6 January this year. The expected award date for the main contract is November of this year, with works expected to commence in early 2015. Works will be completed by the end of 2016. Following testing, commissioning and trial runs, the line should open in quarter 4 of 2017. The project is expected to create up to 800 jobs during construction and 60 permanent jobs on completion. As Members will be aware, I chair a high-level project group comprising representatives of businesses and traders, An Garda Síochána, Dublin Bus, Dublin City Council, the RPA and the NTA with the key aim of ensuring that the city remains open for business while the project is being delivered. The group will monitor progress at a strategic level and will keep abreast of any significant issues relating to traffic management affecting the project over the next few years.

The NRA is also heavily engaged in a number of major projects under the Government's capital programme. The conclusion earlier this year of the contracts for the N7-N11 public private partnership, PPP, project was a vote of confidence in our recovery. The project will see the N11 between Arklow and Rathnew widened to four lanes and, by providing a free-flow system at Newlands Cross, will remove the last set of traffic lights between Belfast and Cork. This scheme is expected to be complete at the end of 2014. The Government stimulus package announced in July 2012 includes funding of over €1 billion towards three additional PPP road transport projects which will further develop our high-quality road network.

Procurement of the three PPP projects included in the stimulus programme, namely the N17-N18 Gort-Tuam link, the M11 Gorey-Enniscorthy road and the N25 New Ross bypass, is under way in the NRA. These projects, along with the Luas cross-city project, are providing a welcome boost to Ireland's construction sector as well as generating significant long-term economic benefits. A new programme of transport infrastructure projects will be determined in the context of the next capital programme, which will be considered by Government in 2015.

In addition to the merger provisions, I am availing of the opportunity to update existing provisions in the Roads Acts, having regard to current requirements with regard to the public road network and the functions of the NRA. These provisions are: powers for the NRA to make by-laws on the maintenance of national roads where it decides to take over responsibility for such roads; the conferral of mandatory status on NRA standards for design, construction or maintenance works on national roads; the payment of grants by the NRA to road authorities for their functions in relation to regional and local roads; and clarification of some laws regarding the recovery of unpaid tolls.

I am also considering making provisions for the transfer of asset ownership of motorways and key dual-carriageways from local authorities to the NRA. I intend to complete my consideration of this issue, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, with a view to the introduction of amendments on Committee Stage. I may also introduce amendments giving the new body the power to engage in pre-planning discussions with An Bord Pleanála. Currently, the RPA can do that but the NRA cannot.

Before turning to the contents of the legislation, I want to comment briefly on other aspects of the reform agenda that was outlined in the document Streamlining Government. The Government has introduced a system whereby members of the public can express an interest in serving on State boards. That is in stark contrast to the closed-shop approach that prevailed previously. This was first proposed in the same policy paper. In the case of my Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, as of the end of 2013 I had made just over 120 new appointments to State boards. This excludes those who were re-appointed to positions they had previously held, CEOs, employee representatives and those made by the North-South Ministerial Council, NSMC. Of these 120 appointments made, more than half submitted expressions of interest, with the remainder approached to serve for the skills that they have. In every case where expressions of interest are made, consideration is given to individuals appropriate to the promotion of good governance at board level. Experience or qualifications in finance, law, corporate governance, marketing, information technology, transport, tourism and sports are sought after.

On occasion, I have approached persons to sit on a board because of their particular skills or experience. Ms Kathryn O'Leary Higgins, for example, was approached to sit on the board of the Shannon Group. Ms O'Leary Higgins was a member of the United States National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, from 2006 to 2009. She served as deputy secretary of the Department of Labor from 1997 to 1999 and in the White House as assistant to the President and secretary to the Cabinet from 1995 to 1997. She is the kind of person whom we should be seeking to serve on State boards, and is a good example of why we should not limit ourselves to those who respond to a public advertisement.

A frequent complaint is that some of those who have been appointed have political connections. This is always portrayed as negative. In my view, it is not. Of course it would be demonstrably wrong to appoint someone whose sole qualification is a party or personal connection, but where the person is qualified and can make a good contribution, political or personal connections should not bar him or her.

Involvement in politics at a voluntary level should be encouraged. Such people care about their county and community.

In our pre-election policy paper, which I have referred to on a number of occasions, we specifically stated that: "Our system will not exclude people with political affiliations from serving on the boards of state agencies but aims to ensure that appointees will be suitably qualified for the positions they will hold and that a well designed system of parliamentary scrutiny will ensure that inappropriate appointments are not made." That is what we are aiming to achieve here.

I do not think it unusual that people appointed to represent a Minister on a State board should actually support Government policy. In fact, I consider it to be a natural thing. In regard to incoming chairpersons of State boards, the Government has introduced a requirement that they appear before the relevant Oireachtas joint committee prior to their appointment. Fourteen chairpersons of agencies under my Department's remit appeared at the relevant joint committee before their appointment. This included Cormac O'Rourke, the current Chairman of the NRA and RPA. He will continue in this role after the merger. He appeared at the joint committee on 28 November 2012 and acquitted himself well by all accounts.

Across all Departments more than 30 incoming State agency chairpersons have appeared before their relevant joint committee prior to their appointment. These included the chairpersons of An Post, Bord na Móna, Dublin Airport Authority, the Grangegorman Development Agency, the Irish Film Board, the National Lottery Company, the Port of Cork, Road Safety Authority, Shannon Foynes Port Company, Shannon Airport Authority, SOLAS and the National Educational Welfare Board among others.

While committees do not have a veto on these appointments, the fact that any chairperson proposed has to appear in public and answer questions on their appointment is a significant brake and works to ensure that only people of high quality and diligence are nominated by a Minister.

A significant issue of concern to Opposition Deputies in the last Dáil was the fact that any question concerning the activities of State agencies would be ruled out of order by the Ceann Comhairle and whether the information was given to the Deputy ultimately depended on the agency itself. The NRA was regularly cited as being one of the worst offenders in this regard. In this Dáil, I have implemented the practice of referring all such questions to the State agency for a direct response with the promise of following it up by my office with the agency within ten days if an answer is not given. Based on feedback I have received to date this system appears to be working satisfactorily and is providing a far higher level of accountability than previously was the case.

I propose to outline the main provisions of the Bill. In summary, the purpose of Bill is to dissolve the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, and transfer its functions to the National Roads Authority, NRA, to transfer the staff of the RPA to the NRA, to amend and expand certain functions of the NRA and to amend the Roads Act 1993 in relation to miscellaneous provisions.

The Bill is divided into four parts. Part 1 deals with technical matters such as the Short Title and commencement, definitions, and savers.

Part 2 provides for the dissolution of the RPA and the transfer of its functions, property, rights and liabilities to the NRA. Section 5 of Part 2 is the key section that covers the proposed arrangements for the dissolution of the RPA. The Minister will, by order, appoint a day to be the dissolution day for the purpose of the legislation and the RPA will stand dissolved on and from the dissolution day.

Section 6 provides for the functions of the RPA to be transferred to the NRA. This section also provides that any reference to the RPA, which relates to a function transferred by this section, is to be construed as a reference to the NRA. Section 7 is a standard technical provision to transfer land and any other property of the RPA to the NRA. All lands currently vested in the RPA will be vested in the NRA without conveyance, transfer or assignment and remain subject to all trusts and equities affecting the land. All other property currently vested in the RPA will also be vested in the NRA without assignment. Section 8 provides for the transfer of rights and liabilities, and continuation of leases, licences and permissions granted by the RPA. This is a standard technical provision to transfer the rights and liabilities of the RPA resulting from any contract or commitment the agency had entered into, to the NRA. The purpose of this section is to ensure a seamless transfer between the agencies.

Section 9 provides for liability for loss occurring before the dissolution day and ensures that the NRA will assume any liability arising from the carrying out by the RPA of any of its functions. The continuity is also ensured for any legal proceedings pending before the dissolution day. Any unimplemented agreement reached or judgment made but not enforced shall be enforceable against the NRA. Any claim which the RPA could make against any person will be made by the NRA after the dissolution of the RPA.

Section 10 sets out provisions to ensure continuity consequent upon transfer of functions, assets and liabilities of the RPA to the NRA under section 6. Anything related to the transfer of the functions of the RPA not completed on the dissolution of the RPA can be carried on or completed by the NRA. Every instrument and document made by the RPA before the dissolution, has effect as if it was made by the NRA.

Any reference to the RPA in the memorandum and articles of any company is construed as a reference to the NRA. On request by the NRA all moneys, stocks, shares and securities transferred by section 7 will be transferred into the name of the NRA. The Minister may certify whether any property, right or liability has been vested in the NRA under sections 7 or 8 and his or her certification is sufficient evidence of the fact unless the contrary is demonstrated.

Section 11 provides that final accounts are to be drawn up for the dissolved RPA up to and including the dissolution day. Section 12 provides that from dissolution day the NRA may, for operational purposes, use the name "Transport Infrastructure Service". There is some debate about the use of that name and it may be that we will make an amendment to it on Committee Stage.

Section 13 provides for the transfer of staff from the RPA to the NRA on the dissolution day. Staff will not have less favourable terms and conditions of service relating to remuneration than they enjoyed in the RPA before its dissolution. In short, no staff member transferring over will be any worse off. Section 14 provides that a transferred person's superannuation arrangements will continue in accordance with the existing RPA pension schemes, as they applied before the dissolution day. Section 15 provides for the repeal of Part 2 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 on the dissolution day. That is a long way of saying we will transfer the RPA to the NRA as a legal entity.

Part 3 deals with the functions of the National Roads Authority. Section 16 provides that the Minister may confer additional functions on the NRA with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Section 17 provides that the NRA will undertake procurement of goods and services on behalf of road authorities, in relation to regional and local roads, at the request of the Minister. That might include, for example, buying salt in bulk on behalf of local authorities.

Section 18 provides that the NRA may provide advice and services to the Minister, local authorities or other persons and that they may charge for services. Section 19 provides that the chief executive officer of the NRA will be accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts. Section 20 provides that the chief executive officer of the NRA will be accountable to other committees established by either House of the Oireachtas.

Part 4 provides for amendments to existing provisions in the Roads Acts. Section 21 provides that the NRA may specify standards for works on national roads to be complied with by those carrying out the works. Section 22 provides that the NRA may make by-laws for the purposes of the maintenance of national roads where it decides to take over responsibility for such roads. Section 23 provides that section 24 of the Roads Act 1993 is substituted by a new section which extends the power of the Minister to include the making of grants to the NRA in respect of regional and local roads. Section 24 provides that a road undertaking may initiate court proceedings for the recovery of any unpaid toll as a simple contract debt as if the toll was founded on a contract made where the liability to pay the toll is incurred. That means that where a toll is not paid on the M50 that can be prosecuted through the courts in Dublin where the offence was committed rather than having to prosecute in all different locations around the country.

Section 25, by the substitution of a new section for section 82 of the Roads Act 1993, extends the powers of the Minister to allow him to request the NRA to make grants to road authorities or others in relation to regional or local roads. It also provides that the Minister may make payments to any person or body for services rendered or goods supplied in relation to public roads. The Minister may also request the NRA to administer the payment of grants to road authorities on his or her behalf.

I strongly believe that the merger of the NRA and RPA will lead to the development of a new dynamic organisation which will be a leader in the planning, delivery and management of transport infrastructure in Ireland. I believe it is a body that will be able to sell its services overseas. It will demonstrate the best and most efficient use of public resources, consistent with the Government's public sector reform agenda. Finally, if any Deputies intend to bring forward amendments to this Bill I urge them to raise any particular issues they may have in their Second Stage speech and to give my office sight of the amendments at an early stage so that, where possible and appropriate, the amendments can be considered on their merits and accepted rather than being rejected for technical reasons or because there was not sufficient time to consider them fully.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to debate on a Bill that Fianna Fáil will support in principle. It is a sensible approach that recognises the economic state of the country, the considerable reduction in the capital programme and the fact we are in a different phase of development in the economy. It is right that a level of consolidation takes place. Notwithstanding some concerns, it is not a bad idea to pull together these skill sets.

I want to record my thanks and appreciation to the staff and board of the Rail Procurement Agency, RPA. They were people of a high calibre and high standing and they did an excellent job. Since being elected initially to the Seanad, I have been a member of the transport committee. During the initial phases of the roll-out of the Luas system, it was a regular occurrence, as Deputy Olivia Mitchell recalls, to have Mr. Frank Allen, then chief executive, appear before the committee to respond to issues as they arose. I found him and the board member and chairperson of time, Mr. Pádraic White, to be people who engaged fully with the Oireachtas and sought to resolve or mollify the concerns being raised by traders in various locations. They did a fine job and no one involved in the RPA should see its dissolution as any reflection on the good work it did. That is a view held by all sides of the House.

When the two organisations are being made one, it is important to retain the vision of successive Governments to bring about a change in the dynamic of public transport infrastructure. I hope the concept of light rail and metro are visions held by all who serve the State. We must maintain a continued level of investment to ensure that, at a future time, there will be a Metro North project and the roll-out of light rail systems as part of the overall development of public transport. The National Transport Authority has made proposals about bus rapid transit, BRT, particularly for linking the airport. It is a sensible project and is something that can be incorporated into the work of the new merged entity, taking into account the skill sets that resided in the RPA and recognising its ability to roll out a project of that nature in a cost-efficient and effective way.

In the downsizing of the two entities, there is often a rush by some in the political process to be seen to reduce costs. We must be careful that, in making relatively minor savings, we do not undermine the capacity of the people or organisation concerned to deliver on the big picture, which is an efficient and effective public transport system that incorporates all entities, including light rail, bus and public service vehicles in a manner that gives Dublin and other cities a favourable position. We must ensure we have the most effective, efficient and best quality public transport system in western Europe. We should continue to strive for that. We have the benefit of not having the legacy of old and outdated systems. We have been rolling out systems in recent years and it gives us the chance to be more advanced.

Some figures have been compiled by my party and show that motorists pay 10% of all taxes in the State but Government spending on roads is being reduced for the regional and local road network by a massive 17% this year. We need fairness in taxes, and when hard-pressed motorists are paying in excess of €4 billion in taxes and charges annually, the least they can expect is that the roads are maintained to an acceptable standard. The recent bad weather did massive damage to the local road network, with which the Minister is familiar. Tax transparency is a mantra cited in respect of corporation tax but the State must respect the motorists of the country and give them the service they pay for heavily and deserve. The Minister is aware of the seven year rolling programme that existed prior to the current round of austerity. I do not seek to cast blame at the door of the Minister but it is vital we try to get back to an enhanced level of maintenance of the road network. At some point, we will reach breaking point and it will cost significantly more to bring the roads back to an acceptable standard.

Poor quality roads and those that become damaged have an effect on road safety and death on the roads. We all seek to reduce this. We often talk about enforcement and a greater level of detection by the Garda Síochána in respect of drink driving and speeding, but a significant part of the success achieved over the past ten to 15 years in reducing death and injury on the roads has been the significant improvement in the quality of our road network. Any deterioration has the capacity to reverse the progress made. The Minister is aware of the figures in the Government's publication, Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16: Medium Term Exchequer Framework. It was published in November and contained significant cuts projected in the capital budget for roads over the coming years. The figures are €605 million in 2012, €278 million in 2013, €288 million in 2014 and down to €252 million in 2016. That will make it difficult to retain the road network in its current state and I have concerns about it. If there is a level of pick-up in the economy, perhaps the figures can be addressed again. The Minister must try to push his colleagues, particularly those in the Economic Management Council, to provide more funding.

The Minister referred to a paper he produced when he was a Fine Gael backbencher about the cull of quangos, and abolition of the RPA is part of the cull of quangos. The Minister will recall the photo opportunity his party engaged in prior to the previous general election and the document entitled 145 quango-ing...going...gone. It outlined plans to abolish or merge a range of State agencies. At the beginning of 2012, we were told that 48 quangos would be abolished or merged in that year, but by the end of 2012, it turned out that only one third of that number of so-called quangos, 17, were cut. The most recent update indicated that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, had plans to abolish 25 more quangos by the end of this year, on top of the 46 already culled. However, the figures combined come to 71, or less than half the 145 that was part of the Fine Gael proposal before the previous general election. Of the 46 quangos the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, says have been done away with, close to half of them are VECs that have been merged with education training boards. The Government's public service reform programme has focused on reducing services to the public and increased charges for local services. The Government continues to pay lip service to the concept of public service reform and concentrates its primary efforts on public relations and spin.

I do not include the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, in that. He set out something I accept and support, the process by which we appoint people to State boards. People should not be excluded because of a particular political leaning. It is all about what they bring to the organisation and whether this is a set of skills commensurate with the needs of the organisation. Their creed, colour or political affiliation and whether they are known to the Minister is irrelevant. I will never criticise any Minister in that regard. I supported the chairpersons the Minister brought before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications because I believe they were people of high standing with the capacity to do the job.

There is talk of whether the committee should have powers to veto, essentially, an appointment. In the circumstances I would not have had to use that, and neither would any member of the committee. Nevertheless, there is a recent example from the merged transport and communication committee. The chairperson-designate of EirGrid was brought before the committee and in the minds of most he had a relatively poor performance on the day, with all members of the committee questioning whether it was an appropriate appointment. Over the course of a week there was a major change of heart by the Government Deputies and Senators sitting on the committee, which meant the Whip system was brought into play so the individual concerned could be confirmed by the Minister and appointed by the Government.

There is an element of lip service in this regard, although by and large and in most cases, Ministers will bring forward people with the required skills etc. I do not want to get into particular details as I have nothing personal against the individual, who is a fine public servant. In my view and that of others, his skills and experience did not gel with the job at hand. If we are to be real about reform we must ensure that on the rare occasions when somebody does not fit the Bill that appropriate action will be taken by a committee that is given the power to indicate to the Government that it should not proceed with an appointment. That happens in the European Parliament and in the confirmation of Commissioners. People think they can sail through a committee examination if a Minister has approached them, and we have set the precedent of a committee examination being an irrelevance. In the one instance when such an examination was relevant, the Government nonetheless proceeded with the appointment. That is what I mean when I speak of an element of spin in the reform agenda. The issue should be reconsidered.

I support the vast majority of the Bill but section 17 would allow the National Roads Authority, NRA, to engage in the procurement of goods and services with regard to the regional road network. The Minister gave the example of purchasing road salt, which would be fine, as there were issues in that regard a couple of years ago because of a shortage of road salt when the crisis hit due to a duplication of effort by various local authorities. The provision is fine if it is just for that kind of purpose but I am concerned as to whether it provides the Government with a capacity to take away powers from local authorities. Is this opening the door to take away a greater level of service from local authorities? They have already lost control of water and their position is being undermined in many other areas. Are we further undermining the power of local government in this respect or is this just an opportunity to operate shared services and therefore reduce costs through bulk buying? I have no problem with that but if this is the beginning of a process of removing the roads function from local authorities, I would have a problem with it.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On the face of it, to merge the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, and the National Roads Authority, NRA, is a reasonable and sensible suggestion. Sinn Féin will not oppose the Bill, although we will consider possible amendments to different aspects of it. Our transport infrastructure should, in as much as much as possible, be joined up and work in harmony to provide the best service for commuters, businesses and the general public in going about their daily lives and business. To combine the knowledge, expertise and experience of the many very qualified people working in both these bodies is unlikely to be of anything other than a benefit to the development and delivery of infrastructure projects into the future. With many of these issues the devil can be in the detail and so plans must be proceeded with carefully, stakeholders should be consulted and there should be minimum disruption caused to workers and existing projects.

The idea of merging the RPA and NRA came from Mr. Colm McCarthy's bord snip report; at least, that is what I believed until I heard the Minister's comment that he had suggested it in the past. The report proposed a raft of measures which, if implemented fully, would have torn the country apart. I am thankful that despite some similar inclinations in the ideology of this Government, the bord snip recommendations have not been applied to the letter. In this case, Mr. McCarthy's recommendation was good, but this is mostly from the point of view of making a better body which would better serve our needs; Mr. McCarthy's reasoning was purely to cut costs and only following an impact assessment was it confirmed that real benefits could be made from this move beyond the short term and in all to often misleading savings figure. This Government has shown itself not immune to using crass and false figures to sell ideas instead of relying on convincing on the basis of merit. We saw this most perfectly exemplified in the Seanad referendum poster which did a lot of damage to the credibility of the "Yes" campaign.

Since the bord snip report, many of our State bodies have been considerably cut and slimmed down. This is very definitely the case with the Railway Procurement Agency, which has lost 115 employees over the past three years. To achieve the minimum saving mentioned by the Minister of €3 million, a reduction in staffing of 30 is required but where do these redundancies come from, what positions are being made surplus to requirement, is there potential for redeployment of these workers, how will that be implemented and if there is no redeployment how much will these redundancies cost? These are all questions we need the answers to so we can better decide the real potential savings from how this Bill lays out the merger. Despite obvious benefits, it is not an excuse to proceed with the merger in just any way the Government decides, as it must be done carefully to ensure that benefits are not unduly offset by the negatives or other problems which could arise.

Everyone can agree that the idea that the new body would be able to significantly cut down on consultancy fees is a good thing. There is a need for a move away from a culture of throwing money at consultants to do work, which in some cases is unnecessary and in most other cases could be done in-house or for much less. The recent scandal over payments to consultants for work for Irish Water has the public mind focused on these issues and so the idea of cutting these costs would be very welcome. In some ways it might seem strange that the new unified body will not have a new name but in the short term the savings this brings are preferable to potential public confusion. Irish Water's logo is very simple and could have been created by any second year multimedia student but it cost €20,000, so any chance of avoiding such waste should be taken. This practice has not been adopted not because there were no in-house people to do the job but because a culture built up in the Fianna Fáil years which was all about throwing money at things, all too irregularly focused on the real needs of society which these bodies are to provide.

Currently we have many issues facing us in transport infrastructure. The Luas cross-city project must be delivered in a timely and efficient manner, and its success is essential to the further development of our capital and its public transport network. That is not to say it is a perfect project, as the disruption which the project will cause could have been avoided with a better plan. The failure to link the two lines on the south of the city is a great disappointment.

We continue to operate without rapid transit to the airport. Dublin Airport is unusually close to the city centre for a main airport and this should be made an advantage as much as possible. Currently, public transport options for travelling to the airport are limited to shelling out for an express bus like the No. 747 or paying nearly €2.50 for a bus to be taken half-way around Santry. I doubt many tourists or business people visiting Ireland are particularly eager to spend an extra 15 minutes on the bus so they can get a good look around the Beaumont area before reaching the city centre. The new transport infrastructure service must work to deal with that very big gap in our system.

The talk of the Swiftway rapid bus service is promising, but it sounds like a major project. In the past major projects have been delayed time and again. We all remember from the late 1990s the graphics of Luas trams passing College Green. The Swiftway service should be a public service operated by CIE.

We have shown that public transport can turn a profit if it is well run. The Luas, despite its limitations, has been well run and its niche market has ensured profitability. Unfortunately, much of the profit has gone into private hands, as we have allowed it to be run by private interests. Not all public transport services can or will be profitable. As transport is an essential public service, we must allow any profit to help pay for losses elsewhere in order that there will be an accessible system for as many people as possible. That is why Fine Gael's desire to privatise bus services is so worrying. As Fianna Fáil started with the banks and Fine Gael continued, we seem intent on privatising the gains and nationalising the losses only.

Another major challenge for the new body is the road network. We have many expensive tolls for roads long since paid for. On other roads where numbers have fallen, we have been subsidising toll companies. The Minister has said he will not allow this to happen again and I hope he is sincere in that regard. He should, as soon as possible, end the subsidisation of private toll operators and start to use the proceeds from tolling for the upkeep of roads and the removal of certain tolls.

The merger of the two bodies gives rise to issues concerning pensions, pay, the loss of jobs, the transfer of assets and the possible off-loading of some buildings and other functions. I am sure the trade unions have had a good input. As I said, the merging of two boards makes sense. The Minister's indication that the public will have a greater role in State boards is important. I am in favour of accountability to the Committee of Public Accounts, which is a very good idea. I pay homage to the staff of the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Roads Authority, with many of whom I have worked during the years. I look forward to the progress of the Bill.