Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Transport the status of the proposals on transport contained in the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes; if he is considering implementing any further recommendations on transport from the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47996/09]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will report on the €60 million reduction in current expenditure under budget 2010; the programmes and agencies that will be affected by this reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47997/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together.

The Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes recommended full year savings of €127 million in my Department's current expenditure provision. The proposed expenditure reductions included: · A saving of €2.9 million on administrative expenditure, pay and non-pay; · A reduction of €36.2 million on roads and road related expenditure, including €20 million on road maintenance; · A saving of €68 million on public transport expenditure, including €55 million from operational efficiencies among the CIE companies. The balance of €20 million was to be accounted for by savings in aviation and cross-programme expenditures.

The Report also included recommendations on additional revenue raising measures such as asset disposals and road pricing and proposed some organisational restructuring such as the merger of agencies and functions. As part of the preparations for the Budget, my Department submitted a list of possible expenditure reduction options to the Department of Finance which took account of the recommendations in the Report. That submission also included a preliminary evaluation of the non-revenue reduction recommendations in the Report.

The current allocation for my Department in the recent Budget announced an underlying expenditure cut of €60 million. This is made up of · Pay and administrative savings of €2.9million which will be achieved through the Incentivised Career Breaks, Shorter Working Year and Incentivised Early Retirement schemes together with cutbacks in travel and incidental expenses across all activities within the Department. · A reduction of €0.65million in the administrative expenditure of the National Roads Authority (NRA) and of €13.8million on regional and local road maintenance. The NRA reductions will be achieved by natural wastage and efficiency savings. The regional and local roads reductions will be offset by the combined benefits of falls in material costs, in particular the lower cost of bitumen, and general reductions in construction related costs. · A reduction of €3.5million in expenditure on the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF). This saving is being achieved through efficiencies and cost reductions and will not impact on service delivery in 2010. · A reduction of €27 million in public service provision payments to CIE, which will be achieved through cost reduction and efficiency measures and service adjustments to reflect reduced patterns of demand. · Elimination of €11.1million in unitary payments on capital expenditure arising from the early repayment of CIE borrowing for capital investment purposes. · A reduction of €1million in Railway Safety Commission (RSC) administrative expenditure. This will not have any adverse effect on the Commission's regulatory functions as they will be funded by a levy under the Railway Safety Act 2005. . A reduction of €0.35 million in the administrative expenditure of the Railway Procurement Agency which will be met from efficiencies within the organisation.

The Report's other recommendations on additional revenue reduction measures and organisational restructuring are under continuing consideration within my Department at present.