Written Answers Nos. 158-160
158. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence when the office of Minister of State for EU Affairs became part of the Department of Defence; where this decision was taken, and by whom; the reasons and expected outcome of same in terms of the impact on the Minister’s portfolio; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32973/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraJennifer Carroll MacNeill T.D. is the Minister of State in the Department of Defence. She is also Minister of State for European Affairs and was appointed by the Taoiseach to these separate roles on 9th April 2024.
No formal functions of the Minister for Defence have been delegated to the Minister of State and full responsibility for Defence policies, the Department of Defence, and the Defence Forces remains with the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. However the Minister of State assists and performs functions, including Oireachtas business, as assigned by me as Minister for Defence, on my behalf.
Responsibilities of the Minister of State include the following:
• Deputising for the Minister on Defence matters;
• Taking all or specific stages of Defence legislation through the Oireachtas;
• Taking Oral Parliamentary Questions;
• Taking Private Members Business (opening or closing statements) relevant to Defence areas of responsibility;
• Taking Dáil topical issues, Seanad Commencement matters relevant to Defence areas of responsibility; and
• Being a member of the Council of Defence pursuant to Section 11 of the Defence Act 1954.
159. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport the money allocated and disbursed under the community involvement scheme, respectively, in each of the years 2019 to 2024; and to clarify if money allocated/disbursed under the community involvement scheme is considered as capital allocations or clarified as current expenditure. [30922/24]
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.
Details of the regional and local road grant allocations and payments to local authorities are outlined in the regional and local road allocations and payments booklets which are available on the Oireachtas Digital Library.
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.
The funding provided for the Community Involvement Scheme is considered as capital expenditure.
160. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport the measures that are being undertaken to address the long waiting list for people to do their driving tests; and if he will acknowledge how the delay in this process is costing people job opportunities. [30963/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service.
At the end of June, the estimated national average wait time to be invited to sit a driving test was 15.6 weeks. While this is still above the service level agreement target of 10 weeks, significant progress has been made since last August, when the estimated wait time was 30.4 weeks nationally.
Progress in reducing wait times has been achieved primarily through the sanctioning of 75 additional driver tester posts by my Department in March 2023, with the first additional testers entering active service last September. 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.
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 testing capacity by test centre.
I recognise the challenges that excessive waiting times are imposing on people throughout the country and I welcome the Road Safety Authority's commitment to restoring average wait times to the target, 10-week level this summer. My officials are working closely with the Authority to monitor progress towards this goal.
