Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his Department's workplace travel plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5844/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Department is aware of, and supports the Government's Smarter Travel Policy, launched by the Minister for Transport on 5 February, which recognises the valuable role that workplace travel planning can play in making commuting travel patterns more sustainable. In that context, the Department has been operating the Civil Service travel pass scheme since 2002. Furthermore, I am aware of the provisions of Section 7 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 which introduced an exemption from an income tax charge under section 118 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in respect of a benefit in the form of a bicycle or associated safety equipment provided to a director or employee by his or her employer, where the bicycle/associated safety equipment is used by the employee or director mainly for qualifying journeys. The Department proposes to implement the Cycle to Work Scheme in 2009 following the receipt of guidelines from the Department of Finance on how to administer the Scheme in Government Departments.