Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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707. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 697 of 8 April 2014, if he will provide details of the proposed capital investment plan to 2020; if the public will be kept informed of the plan; if it will be subject to public consultation, for example, via a dedicated website, public workshops or other means; if the plan will be assessed and made subject to public consultation under Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, the SEA directive; if his attention has been drawn to the provisions of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, the Aarhus Convention and its potential relevance in this regard. [17966/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On 1 April, cross-government work began on the 2014 Comprehensive Expenditure Review and a Review of Capital Expenditure. The process is being led by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My Department is in the process of developing its input to the Review. A Steering Group led by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will consider submissions from Departments and present options to Government in the context of the Budget 2015 cycle. The Transport input to the Review of Capital Expenditure will be informed by on-going work in my Department on a Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport. The completion of this work and its publication in 2014 is one of my priorities for this year.  This framework will allow us to identify the types of investment that can enhance economic productivity, but also recognise that meeting the needs of people is a critical aspect of transport infrastructure provision.

A steering group is guiding this work and stakeholders and advisers such as Forfás and the IDA have been involved in identifying the issues. To ensure that wider stakeholder needs and concerns are fully addressed, a public consultation on a draft framework will take place this Summer. The framework is also undergoing a Strategic Environmental Assessment, according to the provisions of the SEA Directive.