Results 29,161-29,180 of 33,214 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Staff Data (14 Jan 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: There were no secondments in to my Department by employees of external private firms in the period between 2011 and to date in 2015. A financial advisor was engaged on temporary secondment from PriceWaterhouseCoopers during 2010, which brought the benefit of skills and expertise on finance matters, as well as private sector experience to the Department. In return the candidate gained...

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to record my appreciation for the manner in which this Bill has been dealt with by the Dáil. I acknowledge the approach taken by Deputies in regard to its scrutiny and dealing with this challenge. I assure them I do not take this interest or approach for granted and will in the new year continue to engage with the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on matters they...

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. With regard to how I view the Deputy's amendments, I am very pleased that I changed the merchant shipping Bill because the Deputy pointed to an issue. As he will recall, I felt at the time that I could not accept the exact amendment he put forward to me but we changed the Bill. To be fair, I know the Deputy still wants a further change in regard to the Bill but the...

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputies have raised a large number of detailed points on which they expect me to respond. However, I will conclude on this point. The acceptance of liability means that this issue will not end up in court and is, as a consequence, a civil law issue. The guiding point for me in all of this has been that I am not proposing to create an offence but dealing with a legal vacuum at the point...

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I meant the retrospective creation of new offences. I was incorrect.

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand his concern about the retrospective nature of what is being proposed. I will be very happy to deal with his point on Committee Stage, but for now, I will sketch out my two principles for believing this is the right approach. First, the particular issue is the application of penalty points, as opposed to the enforcement of penalty points, which occurs after a person has accepted...

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank all Deputies for their contributions this afternoon in what has been a constructive discussion of the Bill. I was struck by the tone in which all Deputies addressed the matter. There was open criticism and questioning of why this change is needed, as I would expect, but it took place within a framework of support for the objective of road safety legislation as well as an...

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: He still does.

Road Traffic (No.2) Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the House for facilitating the introduction of this Bill at such short notice. The Bill involves technical amendments to existing legislation to deal with issues related to the endorsement of penalty points on driver licence records and contains a provision to address the implications. In essence, this Bill is about road safety...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Reports (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: As stated to the Deputy in Dáil Question No: 744 of the 15th July 2014 my Department's Annual Report for 2013 was published on 25th June.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Car Test (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has responsibility for the delivery of the National Car Test.  The RSA has overall responsibility for the operation, oversight, development, quality assurance and delivery of vehicle testing arrangements.   In anticipation of the current...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Car Test (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has overall responsibility for the operation, oversight and delivery of the National Car Test and as such, statistics relating to NCT waiting times at any particular test centre is a matter for the Authority. I have therefore referred this Question to the RSA for direct reply.  Please advise my Office if you do not...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 582 and 584 together. The issues raised are matters for the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with the bus transport providers and I have forwarded the Deputy's questions to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive responses within ten working days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Car Test (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: Changes to the penalty points regime which came into effect on 8th December last were legislated for under the Road Traffic Act 2014.   Those changes relate to a range of measures, including the National Car Test (NCT) system, which contribute to making our roads safer for all users and I do not propose to revisit them. It has, for some years, been an offence to use...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Local Authority Functions (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: Rickshaws are pedal cycles pursuant to road traffic legislation and fall subject to the requirements applying to pedal cycles when used on the road.   Local authorities regulate many activities at local level through bye-laws made under local government legislation in keeping with Government policy on the devolution of responsibility for local services and functions to local...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Legislative Measures (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: The Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014 is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas. When passed into law it will provide that all penalty points incurred following the payment of a fixed charge notice since 1 August 2014 will be endorsed on a person’s licence record.   I am advised by the Attorney General that the proposals being put forward in this Bill are compatible with...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Traffic Regulations (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: Footpaths are restricted to pedestrians only, as defined in section 2 of the Road Act 1993.  By definition, cyclists are therefore excluded from using footpaths. Under the terms of section 87 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, as amended, Gardaí, fire and ambulance services are exempt from a range of road traffic legislation while using vehicles.  While the definition of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Railway Safety (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: The issues raised are matters for the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann. I have forwarded the Deputy's questions to the NTA and Iarnród Éireann for direct replies. Please advise my private office if you do not receive replies within ten working days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Programmes (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: In addition to the commitments under the Programme for Government that fall within the responsibility of my Department, the additional priorities of my Department are the: - Further development of our public transport network and services on a sustainable basis, including completion of the Cross City LUAS project - Proper maintenance of our local, regional and national roads...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Funding (18 Dec 2014)

Paschal Donohoe: There were a number of severe weather events from late 2013 into 2014.   After the December/January damage the Government acknowledged that the budgets of Local Authorities and relevant Departments/Offices did not provide for the estimated direct financial costs for clean-up and infrastructure repair and restoration works.  The Government agreed that additional funding...