Results 2,101-2,120 of 6,816 for speaker:Darren O'Rourke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland: Chairperson Designate (1 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I have been in and out of the meeting with another matter, so apologies if I am going over old ground. I wish Mr. Llewellyn well in his new role. I am interested in his perspective on the role of TII. Does he think the role of roads, as we have understood them for so long in terms of carrying cars, lorries and buses, is changing, in light of the sustainable future with climate targets, a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland: Chairperson Designate (1 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: Does Mr. Llewellyn envisage an expanded role for the organisation in terms of active travel, or is it more of a case of working with organisations, such as the NTA and others, in a co-ordinated way to deliver on those projects? What is the most efficient way to deliver?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland: Chairperson Designate (1 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: In respect of the planning process, I presume it is not entirely within the gift of TII outside of funding. Obviously, Mr. Llewellyn has international experience and can make comparisons. From initial discussions with colleagues in TII, does he believe that our planning system is fit for purpose? What types of changes does he think might be needed to ensure that major transport projects...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland: Chairperson Designate (1 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: On a separate topic, I read a piece last week in one of the newspapers on funding for TII that has been impacted by something in the order of €100 million this year because of lower income in a complicated way, but related to traffic volumes on toll roads. Does Mr. Llewellyn have a concern in relation to that? Does that affect, in a real way, TII's bottom line? Is the organisation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland: Chairperson Designate (1 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank Mr. Llewellyn and wish him well in his new role.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank the witnesses. On the delay with the introduction of the new regime, there was confusion about the regime. That was a significant source of frustration for many people who understood that they needed a pre-departure PCR test. Many of them went and got such tests and then learned, principally through Aer Lingus or some of the other carriers, that they did not actually need them. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: Mr. O'Connor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: It would be done the other way around.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: Yes. Moving on to the testing regime, there has been plenty of discussion of this issue. Having come from another meeting, I am not sure if this issue has been discussed already. When Professor Mark Ferguson appeared before the committee to discuss his report, we discussed the possibility of using self-administered antigen testing on a serial basis, pre-departure and post-arrival, as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I have a follow up question on DCCs and Mr. Comiskey's finishing point leads into it. I have queries from constituents and I do not know if this issue has been resolved in terms of updating DCCs with booster details. In some countries there is an entry requirement that vaccination status is in date and it will run out after 12 months. Have DCCs been updated, or can they be updated, with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: That is interesting to hear. We will keep an eye on that as it develops. I have two final questions in regard to the North and harmonisation of systems as far as possible. On an all-island basis, my understanding is that DCCs are available for adults in the North but not for children. Is that the case? If it is the case, why? An issue that has arisen for me and I am sure for a number of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I might just leave a question mark beside that for an opportunity to return to it, but I take Mr. O'Connor's response.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I might flag that with Mr. Comiskey and come back separately to this issue that has presented for people transiting through the North, to the South, and difficulties they have run into with the British passenger locator form related to transiting. It has caused an unnecessary burden on people, with financial implications in a number of cases. This has come up for me and for colleagues as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid Testing for International Travel into and out of Ireland: Discussion (8 Dec 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank Mr. O'Connor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank the witnesses for all their work and for attending the meeting today. I have a number of questions but I may ask some of them in later rounds. I want to focus on the issue of the models. First, I would like to know about the information gaps, the data sets and the input variables. What gaps were there when the witnesses started their work and what gaps or weaknesses in information...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I have a question on the assessment of the investment required for transition. I am looking at the technical report. How was that assessed? Table 3.4 has reference to taking €5 billion as the average per annum upfront investment required. Where does that €5 billion come from? On my read of the 51% reduction, it looks more like €10 billion. I seek information on that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank the witnesses for their contributions. Yesterday, when we heard from the Climate Change Advisory Council, or a subgroup of the council, it said the most significant factor underpinning the proposed carbon budgets was the commitment to a reduction of 51%, the interim target in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. Do the witnesses believe this target is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank the Chairman and witnesses for their presentation and written submission. I will address a similar theme. One of the points that came up in a number of the contributions we heard from academic experts yesterday, the subgroup of the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, on Tuesday, and the witnesses today is the potential social impact of the developed models. There is a weakness...