Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 1082: To ask the Minister for Transport the status of the integrated ticketing project; the projected future budget and expenditure to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28553/06]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 1135: To ask the Minister for Transport when integrated ticketing will be introduced among public transport providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30172/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1082 and 1135 together.

I set out the position in relation to the Integrated Ticketing project in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 456 on 6th July 2006 and announced that I was in the process of establishing an Integrated Ticketing Project Board with responsibility for delivering the project.

The Project Board has now been established and comprises an independent Chairperson, David O'Callaghan, the Chief Executives of the Railway Procurement Agency, Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann and a representative of licensed private bus operators. An Assistant Secretary from my Department is also on the Board and a senior representative of the Department of Social and Family Affairs also attends as required.

The Board is accountable to me and is required to formally report on progress in September 2006 and every 3 months thereafter, or more frequently if circumstances require. On its establishment, I set the Board a number of immediate tasks:

review and settle by way of agreement the scope, timelines and budget for the phased completion of the integrated ticketing project;

review the ticketing plans and associated timelines of the transport agencies to satisfy itself on their compatibility with the integrated ticketing project;

review and update, if appropriate, the anticipated benefits of the project;

determine the composition of the Project Implementation Team;

agree a procurement plan for the project taking on board lessons learned from the experience to date.

I have asked the Project Board to report back to me by the end of September, 2006 with an agreed delivery strategy for the integrated ticketing project. I expect to receive this report in the next few days. Some €10.5 million has been paid out to date by the Exchequer on integrated ticketing since commencement of the project in 2002.