Written answers
Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Department of Transport
Departmental Expenditure
9:00 pm
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Transport the amount spent by his Department on capital projects to date; the details of these projects; the degree to which there has been an underspend on such projects to date; the reason therefor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28848/05]
Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In the period 2000-2004, €1.233 billion was spent on public transport safety and development. Details are set out in the following table.
| Project | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | |
| Railway Safety | 123.86 | 148.45 | 127.16 | 103.94 | 86.71 |
| Rolling Stock | 23.56 | 5.59 | 62.52 | 88.28 | 76.25 |
| IÉ Upgrades and Other Projects | 5.83 | 21.82 | 42.87 | 82.4 | 79.55 |
| Dublin Bus Projects | 22.53 | 22.06 | 28.01 | 12.69 | 5.01 |
| Bus Éireann Projects | 6.48 | 19.9 | 2.81 | 9.57 | 3.33 |
| Integrated Ticketing and Real Time Passenger Information | 0 | 0 | 0.45 | 1.87 | 4.85 |
| Other PT Projects | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.49 | 9.49 |
| Total | 182.26 | 217.82 | 263.82 | 304.24 | 265.19* |
| *2004 figures relate to the entire investment programme, which is comprised of Exchequer Resources and CIE borrowings, which will be repaid by the Exchequer. |
A number of projects, undertaken during the period, have been completed under budget. These include the Heuston Station redesign, the Drogheda diesel railcar depot, the purchase of 16 DART cars and the essentially complete DART upgrade project. The underspend in these cases averages 8% and is a result of good project management on the part of Iarnród Éireann or a favourable exchange rate.
| Traffic Management | |||||
| Project | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | â'¬m | |
| Traffic Management (DTO) | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Accessibility Programme | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 8,000 |
| Regional Bus Priority | 0 | 0 | 200 | 5,500 | 8,000 |
| Public Transport Interchanges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 1,200 |
Some minor underspend occurred on some of the projects.
Since 2000, a total of 55 projects have been approved for funding under the regional airports measure of the NDP. Based on a total estimated cost of €18.46 million, grant aid of €15.534 million has been approved for projects to facilitate improvement works and upgrades in facilities to maintain continued safe, secure and viable operations at the regional airports. To end 2004, over €11 million has been paid out in grant assistance under the measure. There is no underspend on these projects to date. A summary of all capital grants to regional airports is in the following table.
| Capital Grants to Regional Airports* | |||||
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| â'¬000 | â'¬000 | â'¬000 | â'¬000 | â'¬000 | |
| Donegal | 0 | 0 | 253 | 718 | 0 |
| Galway | 259 | 288 | 728 | 946 | 1,276 |
| Knock | 0 | 303 | 0 | 2,031 | 0 |
| Kerry | 0 | 0 | 839 | 855 | 0 |
| Sligo | 0 | 182 | 470 | 239 | 9 |
| Waterford | 0 | 55 | 0 | 587 | 998 |
| Total | 259 | 828 | 2,290 | 5,376 | 2,283 |
| *Includes NDP Regional Airports Measure and the now defunct "Regional Airports Infrastructure Grant Scheme". |
Total investment in the upgrade of the national road network over the period 2000-2005 amounts to €6.6 billion. This has funded the completion of 53 projects, 370 kms. Work is in progress on a further 21 projects, 211 kms. The position regarding project costs is that the NRA is completing projects this year with a total estimated outturn cost of €1.17 billion, which compares to a pre-construction estimate for these projects of €1.17 billion. The following table provides details regarding the estimated and outturn costs of projects completed so far in 2005.
| Scheme | Start Year | Finish Year | Estimate Cost at Contract Award | Final Outturn Cost | % Increase |
| M50 South Eastern Motorway | 2001 | 2005 | 593.5 | 569 | -4.1 |
| N2-Carrickmacross Bypass | 2003 | 2005 | 49.9 | 51.8 | 3.8 |
| N4-Sligo Inner Relief Road | 2003 | 2005 | 72.7 | 74.3 | 2.2 |
| N4-McNeads Bridge Kinnegad | 2004 | 2005 | 27 | 27 | — |
| N21- Ballycarthy Tralee | 2001 | 2005 | 13.2 | 13.2 | — |
The NRA is currently compiling similar data on projects completed in earlier years and this will be forwarded to the Deputy when available.
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