Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to present the public service performance report for 2023 for the Department of Transport. The report contains high-level metrics on the delivery of investment and services in each of the five expenditure programmes published in the 2023 Revised Estimates.

Looking at 2023 in its context, since 2020 there have been key shifts in investment into new policy areas, aligning with the scale of policy ambition of this Government, in delivering compact growth, improving regional accessibility and working to deliver on our climate commitments. We have developed specific strategic network plans and can measure progress against delivery of those plans. This includes flagship infrastructure programmes such as BusConnects, DART+, MetroLink, and the electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy. We have moved from relatively low investment in active travel to designing and steadily delivering comprehensive, integrated urban and national networks with a particular focus on accessibility, with major investments, for example, connecting the North and South Quays in Waterford or Donabate and Malahide in Dublin. We have continued our investments in the national road network with several major road projects completed in the life of the Government.

We have ensured that integrated transport plans have been developed for regional cities and can now see the benefits under way with major construction works ongoing at Plunkett Station in Waterford, Kent Station in Cork and Ceannt Station in Galway, repositioning these stations as modern, connected, multi-modal transport hubs. We are steadily replacing existing ICE public transport fleets with low-emission vehicle and zero-emission vehicle fleets and have made major progress in improving and greatly enhancing public services through BusConnects and Connecting Ireland. We have made significant investments in aviation and maritime safety and security, supporting our regional airports and delivering an enhanced Coast Guard service.

Many of the metrics published reflect the progress we have made, but also highlight the downsides. Unwelcome trends include the increase in road fatalities and the slow progress in decarbonising transport networks. Although the pace of progress of major transport projects through the planning system has been slow, this too is now steadily ramping up with the Cork commuter rail project well under way and the first BusConnects corridors due to go into construction next year. As our plans develop, what we measure will evolve with those plans.

I will turn now to some of the specific metrics for 2023. I will take programme A, sustainable mobility – active travel and greenways, first. This is primarily a capital investment programme, with expenditure exceeding the budget for 2023 due to strong programme delivery. Output indicators focus on the kilometres added to the active travel and greenway networks during 2023. The National Transport Authority is broadly responsible for managing the active travel programme and Transport Infrastructure Ireland is primarily responsible for the delivery of greenway networks. Impact data for 2023 is derived primarily from the cycling and walking index and the Dublin city canal cordon count. For example, the available data in the walking and cycling index for Dublin, included in the Revised Estimates Volume, shows a measurable improvement in areas such as perceptions of safety in the period between 2019 and 2021. As of 2023, the index is available for all five cities’ metropolitan areas, which hugely expands the range of information available.

In 2023, programme B, sustainable mobility – public transport, focused on progress in public transport investment and in electrification of private transport networks. In the 2023 Revised Estimates Volume, indicators were grouped into broad categories: EV grants, EV infrastructure, public transport asset purchases, public transport infrastructure and public transport services. EV and home charging point grant demand remained strong, preceding the much-discussed dip in 2024 for EV demand. In 2023, the total number of registered EVs as well as the percentage of EVs as a share of total car sales continued to rise. Key investments in 2023 included the ongoing programme of upgrading, replacing and expanding bus and rail fleet assets. The types of impacts selected for the report show a steady rise in public transport passenger numbers as well as growth in the size of the public transport network.

Last year, programme C, road networks and road safety, broadly divided the outputs into the addition of new road infrastructure as well as the maintenance of existing infrastructure. The kilometres of new roads relate to the completion of major schemes such as the N5 Westport to Turlough scheme in County Mayo, and the N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom scheme in County Cork. The metrics published in the Revised Estimates Volume contain further information on the types of assets being maintained in the asset maintenance programme, for example bridges and lighting. The impacts indicate rising demand on the use of the road network, but also the area of road safety. We know from available CSO data that the number of vehicles travelling per kilometre is trending upwards, which confirms what intuitively citizens may feel as the economy and the population continue to rise steadily. The metrics highlight the concerning increase in fatalities as well as the work of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety testing for road safety influencing factors such as drug and alcohol specimens received from drivers. The metrics also measure the working of the driver vehicle and licensing service in Shannon, including the transactions processed through the national vehicle and driver file.

In programme D, metrics generally measure compliance with safety and security, which is the main focus of investment, alongside operational grants and public service obligation schemes. The impact indicators show a steady increase in passenger throughput, again reflecting the rebound over the 2021-23 period from Covid restrictions.

The metrics in programme E primarily reflect the work of the Marine Survey Office and the role of marine surveyors in ensuring the safety of marine vessels; and the work of the Coast Guard in responding to marine emergencies within its remit.

The Department of Transport also has responsibility for the collection of nearly €1 billion each year in motor tax receipts for the Exchequer. Total receipts in 2023 were €911 million. The majority of this is collected through the easy to use and highly efficient motortax.ie website run by the Department. The Department also provides the back-office IT system of the local authority motor tax offices for those choosing to pay in person. My Department continues to look for new mechanisms to improve our digital customer service offerings to citizens while not leaving anyone behind who wishes to engage with us through non-digital channels.

The examination of our programmes through the lens of the public service performance report is a welcome development as it offers a great opportunity to discuss policy, delivery and the progress on matters of concern to the committee, and to the citizens the committee represents on behalf of whom our work is undertaken. I am happy to take any questions that the committee may have and I presume my officials might be able to add to the discussion if that is appropriate.