Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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1074. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 704 of 28 May 2013, if he will explain in more detail the references he made to the AECOM report from which he quoted in his reply that there is very limited demand for movement between the regional cities; if he will also comment on the discord between the conclusions of the AECOM report referred to and the policy of his Department in relation to road infrastructure and the provision of intercity bus services between these same cities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27258/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The AECOM report referred to in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 704 of 28 May 2013 is available on the Iarnród Éireann website. The report is extensive and covers areas such as performance of the InterCity Network, Inter-Urban demand, mode competition and future investment strategies.

I do not accept that there is an inconsistency between the conclusions of that report and the policies of my Department in relation to road infrastructure and the provision of intercity bus services. The primary focus of the major road investment programme over the decade to 2010 was on the major inter-urban routes i.e. Dublin to Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast along with some targeted development projects such as the upgrade of the M50 and the Dublin Port Tunnel. Under the Capital Infrastructure and Investment Framework 2012-2016 Exchequer funded road development projects have been scaled back significantly and the focus has increasingly been put on maintenance of the existing network and protection of the investment made to date. A number of PPP projects with good benefit to cost ratios are going ahead as part of the Government’s Stimulus Programme.

Bus services between the cities are provided by Bus Éireann Expressway or private commercial bus services licensed by the National Transport Authority. These services are commercial demand-led services which do not receive any State funding.