Written Answers Nos. 141-160
141. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of competitions held to date in 2024 for Defence Forces personnel to apply to join the Defence Forces School of Music; and the number of Defence Forces personnel, by rank, that applied for each of the competitions that were held to date this year, in tabular form. [28656/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been advised by the military authorities that no competitions for the Defences Force School of Music have been held to date in 2024.
A recruitment campaign for instrumentalists resulted in 7 instrumentalists being inducted in September 2023. A Captain level (Conductor) appointment is anticipated from the Conductor campaign which closed in December 2023.
142. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the current position regarding the purchase of a new Government jet; and if he expects a tender process for same will commence before end of 2024. [28943/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe competitive process for the purposes of delivering a replacement aircraft for the Ministerial Air Transport Service is well advanced with the restricted Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) stage complete and a number of aircraft manufacturers having passed to the Invitation To Tender stage, which is ongoing at present.
A Civil Military Project Team comprising Officials from my Department and the Air Corps has been actively working on the delivery of this project and they are being supported by an external aviation expert Altea, with legal support being provided by the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. The Project Team will evaluate the tender documents and will make recommendations for approval once the various stages of the procurement process have been completed.
As this competition is being conducted on a restricted basis with a procedure for negotiation under the Defence and Security Directive 81/2009/EC it is not appropriate at this stage of the competition to release information concerning the number of participants who have been selected to proceed to the next stage of the competition or to specify the exact timelines as to when that process will be complete. However, the intention is that the acquisition phase will be complete and an award of contract will be made this year.
143. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of Air Corps personnel currently undergoing training to become fully qualified air traffic controllers; and when each of those persons will qualify, in tabular form. [28944/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe military authorities have advised that there is one person currently undertaking the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Officers Course and their expected qualification dates are as follows:
|
ATC Qualification |
Estimated Qualification Date |
|
Tower |
Q3 2024 |
|
Radar |
Q4 2026 |
A new Air Traffic Controller cadetship competition was run in 2024 and closed on 23 June. The 291 applications are currently being processed.
144. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of Air Corps personnel currently undergoing training to become fully qualified pilots within the Air Corps; and when each of those persons will qualify, in tabular form. [28945/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe military authorities have advised that there are currently 24 trainee pilots, comprised of 11 cadets completing military training which is required before they commence their Pilot Wings course, and a further 13 officers undertaking pilot training.
The table below provides the details requested by the Deputy:
|
Air Corps Class / Course |
Number of Personnel |
Estimated Date to Pilot Qualification |
|
Flying Class |
5 |
Q1 2025 |
|
Ground School |
8 |
Q2 2026 |
|
Cadet School |
11* |
Q4 2026 |
|
Total in Training: |
24 |
|
*Includes 1 cadet who is currently on a leave of absence.
145. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport how he has improved public transport in Carlow since June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28431/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including delivering the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan and New Town Services.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for public transport services in County Carlow, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
146. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport the cumulative funding provided for local and national roads in Carlow since June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28432/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Councils' own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority.
Within the budget available to the Department, State grant funding is allocated on as fair and equitable a basis as possible to ensure that all local authorities are in receipt of funds to maintain the network. The allocation of the three biggest exchequer grant types (restoration maintenance, restoration improvement, and discretionary grants) are based on the length of regional and local roads within a local authority’s area, with additional weighting based on contributing traffic factors in specific areas.
As regards the funding provided to Carlow County Council for regional and local roads since June 2020, a detailed breakdown of funding for each local authority per grant type (of which there are currently 17 types) is outlined in the regional and local road allocations and payments booklets which are available on the Oireachtas Digital Library.
In respect of national roads, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals.
Full details of the funding provided by TII for national roads in Carlow since 2020 are available in TII’s payments booklet for each year, which are placed in the Oireachtas library.
148. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport to provide a breakdown of the number of applicants and waiting times for each category of professional driving licence at each test centre, in tabular form; and the actions he is taking to reduce waiting times. [28683/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service and the specific information requested is held by that agency. I have therefore referred the question to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response is not received within 10 days.
The driver testing service is currently facing unprecedented demand, with the number of applications for tests rising by 23% year-on-year. Progress in reducing wait times has been achieved primarily through the sanctioning of 75 additional driver tester posts by my Department last March. The RSA currently has sanction to employ up to 205 driver testers in total, which is more than double the 100 sanctioned posts in June 2022.
With the introduction of additional testing capacity from September last year, the average wait time for a test fell from 30.4 weeks at the end of August to 14.9 weeks at the end of April. The RSA is targeting a restoration of the 10-week service level agreement by the end of August.
To further assist with reducing waiting times, in October last year a change was made to the booking system to allow any unused test slots to be made available for candidates to take up at short notice. If a driving test is cancelled at short notice, the RSA now make this appointment available to the general public on the MyRoadSafety portal.
The Authority has recently started to publish detailed monthly information on the driver testing service on the CSO website, including the breakdown of waiting times and distribution of testers and testing capacity by test centre.
149. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the Mullingar town bus service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28607/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including delivering the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan and New Town Services.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for the rollout of new services, including in County Westmeath, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
151. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport to make public transport more accessible (details supplied). [28715/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network. The NTA works with the relevant public transport operators, for example Irish Rail, who have responsibility for day to day operational issues, to progressively make public transport accessible.
In light of Irish Rail's responsibilities for rail services between Cork and Cobh, I have forwarded your question to the company for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
152. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Transport the plans to alleviate the backlog in the community involvement scheme applications in County Sligo; if further funding will be made available to Sligo County Council to carry out these works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28724/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of local authorities, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Councils' own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority.
In 2018, the Department introduced ring-fenced funding for Community Involvement Schemes (CIS). The purpose of the CIS is to facilitate local community participation in the repair of local roads. The focus of the programme is on the repair of more lightly trafficked public roads which might not be high on the list of a local authority's annual roadwork programme. Under the scheme a local community can contribute in money or in kind, for example by making labour or machinery available.
While community contributions in the range 15% to 30% had been required up to 2021, depending on the mix between works and monies, the contribution rate has now been reduced to a minimum of 10% for monetary contributions and 20% for works contribution. This is more in line with Local Improvement Scheme contribution rates.
In order to allow for sufficient planning and applications for this scheme, local authorities are invited to apply for funding for CIS projects for a two-year programme with the latest round of applications received in 2023 for the 2024/2025 period.
Grant allocations for 2024 were issued in February this year with €13m being made available to local authorities under the CIS grant. Of this, Sligo received an allocation of €387,000 for the 2024 CIS programme.
The CIS is purely voluntary and does not take away from the statutory responsibilities of each road authority. It is intended to be an extra option, where suitable, for local authorities and communities to address issues on tertiary roads where needed.
It is important to reiterate that the annual programme of works is decided by the local authorities, and the Department has no role in this process. All funding for regional and local roads has been fully allocated for 2024.
153. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Transport the annual estimated cost of improved accessibility for people with disabilities-safer routes to school funding increase for the years 2025 to 2029. [28732/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra154. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Transport the annual estimated cost of the safer routes to school scheme for the years 2025 to 2029. [28733/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 154 together.
In March 2021, I launched the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme which will support Active Travel infrastructure for selected schools around the country. The programme aims to support walking, scooting and cycling to primary and post-primary schools and to create safer walking and cycling routes within communities. This will help alleviate congestion at school gates and increase the number of students who walk or cycle to school by providing the necessary infrastructure.
The Safe Routes to School Programme is funded by my Department through the National Transport Authority (NTA) and is supported by the Department of Education. An Taisce’s Green-Schools is co-ordinating the programme, while funding will be made available to local authorities which will play a key part in delivering the infrastructure along access routes and at the school gate.
Noting the role of the NTA in the matter I have referred your question to them for answer. If you do not received a reply within 10 working days please contact my private office.
155. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Transport the annual estimated cost of port infrastructure for offshore wind energy for the years 2025 to 2029. [28734/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that under the National Ports Policy commercial state ports operate on a self-funding basis. Commercial state ports receive no exchequer funding and must finance their infrastructure developments, including those necessary for Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE), through their own revenues, borrowings, EU grant funding, or private sector investment.
As such, commercial state ports operate on an independent commercial basis and it is the responsibility of each port company to evaluate the cost of their proposed projects to facilitate the offshore wind industry.
Notwithstanding this, the ORE Ports Facilitation Division in my Department is committed supporting the development of port infrastructure to maximise the use of Irish commercial state ports for offshore wind delivery. Supporting the development of this infrastructure is a core objective of the National Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce and the Department is working very closely with the Taskforce in this regard.
Officials in my Department continue to engage with all industry stakeholders with a view to maximising all financing opportunities available to state ports. This includes potential financing partners such as the European Union (EU) through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) fund, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). Separately, the ongoing review of the National Ports Policy will consider ways to support the development of this essential port infrastructure in line with the Government’s climate and energy goals.
This engagement can be evidenced by the assistance given to commercial ports that applied for funding under the 2023 call for the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) fund to develop infrastructure to facilitate offshore wind projects. Officials in my Department provided critical feedback and guidance on the CEF applications. If successful, ports can obtain up to 30% of costs for infrastructure or up to 50% of costs for studies. The results of the CEF funding call are expected towards the middle of July 2024.
Furthermore, my Department is working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) which is providing advisory support concerning a number of ORE port projects which are expected to require financing in order to undertake the significant capital investment required to develop the necessary ORE infrastructure. The results of this engagement by the EIB will inform the approach of both ports and the department in identifying sources of finance for these projects. The output of this work will also be significant in identifying how Irish commercial state ports will contribute towards meeting our 2030 offshore wind targets.
156. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Transport the steps that will be taken to make a junction located near a school safe for pedestrians, especially for certain cohorts (details supplied); which, despite repeated requests over the years has no school traffic wardens for the two crossings involved, no warning signs, flashing beacons or signs indicating how close to a school the thousands of drivers going through this junction daily are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28758/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel. In 2024, €290 million was allocated to the National Transport Authority (NTA)'s Active Travel Infrastructure Programme. The NTA, in partnership with local authorities, have responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area.
In March 2021, I was delighted to launch the Safe Routes to School Programme which will support Active Travel infrastructure for selected schools around the country.
The Safe Routes to School Programme aims to create safer walking and cycling routes within communities, alleviate congestion at the school gates and increase the number of students who walk or cycle to school by providing the necessary infrastructure. The Safe Routes to School Programme is funded by my Department through the National Transport Authority and An Taisce's Green-Schools is co-ordinating the programme.
It is my understanding that the school referenced in the Deputy's question has applied for the SRTS Programme but was not included in the first or second rounds of funding; however, they will not be required to reapply as all schools which applied will come into the programme on a rolling basis.
Noting the role of the NTA in both the Active Travel and the Safe Routes to School Programme, I have referred your question to them for answer. If you do not receive a reply within 10 working days please contact my private office.
157. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport the funding allocation for each of the years 2019 to 2023 for national routes (details supplied), in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28626/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals. In this context, TII is best placed to advise you.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
158. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the estimated full-year cost of making all public transport, including both public service obligation services and private commercial services, free; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28874/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
In light of the NTA’s responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
159. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the annual costs of PSO funding for all transport services. [28875/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. Since 2010, the award of Public Service Obligation (PSO) funding falls under the independent statutory remit of the NTA.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for the PSO programme, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
160. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the unit cost of new electric busses. [28876/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, the Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the public transport sector in line with the Climate Action Plan. No new diesel-only buses have been purchased for urban public service obligation bus fleets since July 2019, as set out in the National Development Plan 2018-2027. The transition to a zero-emission urban bus fleet is currently programmed to take up until 2035, based on replacement of non-zero-emission buses as they reach the end of their efficient service lives.
Electric buses produce no emissions and offer reduced interior and exterior noise levels compared to diesel buses. This transition to electric buses will result in cleaner air and less noise pollution in areas where the buses are operating, while also providing a quieter journey for passengers. Electric buses are currently rolling out across Ireland in areas such as Dublin, Limerick and Athlone.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the provision and upgrade of public bus fleets.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
