Results 8,121-8,140 of 26,037 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I appreciate that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: The National Transport Authority.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: By way of a clarification, the NTA was before us two weeks ago. That meeting was in relation to the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy, LSMATS, plan of which the first draft did not have rail. It will certainly have it now and is very much based on the existing rail network. Equally, the first plan had the northern distributor road as a public transport arm within the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will give Deputy Cathal Crowe extra time because I came in on his slot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Will the Minister deal with those points? I am conscious of time but they are relevant.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Minister is open to discussion nonetheless.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Brilliant. There was also a question on broadband.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Others might also take it up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: There are two points for the Minister. First, I would always listen to Senator Buttimer's father. He is a very wise man and a good counsel. Secondly, will the Minister give clarity on the funding of a CMATS office in Cork?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Minister. I want to pick up on a couple of themes, the first of which is broadband. I want to ask the Minister about two things. We have had NBI before us quite a number of times. Recently, we visited their headquarters as a committee. Two matters came up, the first of which was the delay in the process of getting the section 254 licence for the poles and the road opening...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is the Department considering that this should be done almost in real time? NBI is coming back to the Department with statistics on each local authority and on how quickly it is getting the likes of applications for the erection of poles and the opening of roads-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Second-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have very limited time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I know all that. I have very specific questions. In the original plan for the roll-out of the NBP, no priority was given to the gap intervention areas. It is the biggest issue on the ground for us. People look out from their back gardens and out their front doors and see their neighbours with fibre broadband and they do not have it because the commercial operator did not roll it out. NBI...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will move on. I wish to follow up on the M20. The Minister has put out a figure of €3 billion for the cost of the M20. Can he explain to me where you got that figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: We had representatives of TII in before us to respond to the review of the NDP. They said there were two categories: less than €1 billion and between €1 billion and €3 billion. I am asking how much the project will cost. The Minister has put it out there on numerous occasions that it would cost €3 billion. Is that the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is 90 km long. Even at the very outside, it will cost approximately €10 million per kilometre. That is about €1 billion at most. How can you go from €1 billion to €3 billion?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have made the same inquiries and I am told the cost could go up to maybe €15 million per kilometre, which is about €1.3 billion or €1.4 billion in total, nowhere near the Minister's figure of €3 billion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I contend that this is incorrect. I believe that the motorway could cost, at the outside, €10 million per kilometre, which would come in at €900 million in total. If the cost per kilometre went up to even €15 million, the total cost would be in the order of €1.3 billion or €1.4 billion. We might engage with the Department on the figures because we can...