Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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206. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will define the authority upon which State owned transport companies dispose of property assets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42605/13]

Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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208. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department requires State owned transport companies to consult with stakeholders before disposing of property assets or define properties in respect of their strategic, long term, infrastructure needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42607/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 208 together.

The transport companies under my aegis are the CIÉ group of companies and the Railway Procurement Agency. In the case of these agencies, the disposal of property assets is not subject to any specific authority from the Minister and no requirement is placed on them to consult with stakeholders. In the case of CIÉ, core assets such as rail lines, bus depots and other assets required to meet its statutory obligation to provide transport services may not be disposed of. There are also specific provisions in Section 21 of the Transport Act 1950, as amended by the Transport Acts 1958 and 1963, in relation to railway lines over which the services of trains have been terminated at any time.

The disposal of any asset with an anticipated value of over €150,000 by any State agency must comply with the guidelines laid down in the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.