Results 24,441-24,460 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I know the area and I recall the public consultation on the various different routes. There was a lot of controversy and many different views. The new route arrangements we have introduced, including the H-spine and the C-spine, are working. We have seen a big increase in the number of people using the bus. It has worked. There have been difficulties in other areas. As the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: In my experience, the NTA has always been good at meeting public representatives. Can I say-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I will ask the NTA to meet public representatives because it is important that Members of the Dáil, in particular, have access and are able to represent their communities. I will mention one other factor. We are already seeing a big increase in bus use as a result of the network redesign. A twin part of the approach is that we will put in 16 corridors, which will make that network...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport, including the rail network. The operation, maintenance and renewal of that rail network and stations, including the former stations at Cratloe and Crusheen, is a matter for Iarnród Éireann in the first instance. The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future commits to a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There were stations at Cratloe and Crusheen. Reading the background on it, they were used right into the 1980s, and 1990s even, mainly for freight or if there was a big match day, or whatever, to get to Thurles. That is in living memory. It is not as if there is not a station there. We would need to upgrade, obviously, and put in proper platforms. It is not that expensive. The big...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The latter is a complex issue and I do not have details of it here. I do not have an update but I will try and come back to the Deputy with more information with regard to that. With the introduction of the assembly up North, and even if that does not take place, we will have to look at some mechanism of advancing the strategic rail review. It sets out recommendations in respect of line...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenways Provision (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Some €63 million has been allocated by my Department to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, this year for the delivery of its greenway programme. Of this, €4.65 million has been allocated to Galway County Council and €790,000 to Sligo County Council for greenway projects under their remit. Two TII-funded greenways are currently being progressed between Athenry and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenways Provision (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am not aware of the exact number of those options. It may be five, as the Deputy suggests, but it certainly is a range of different options, including running alongside a rail line and other greenfield routes. Any such process goes through a public consultation process. The timing here could be fortuitous. Fundamentally, what I see happening is the strategic rail review coming before...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenways Provision (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree on the need for balanced regional development, particularly for the north west, and specifically on the lack of connectivity to Donegal. Sligo has a rail service but Donegal does not and it has suffered as a result for decades. There are limited resources, however, and it is expensive. The section from Charlestown to Collooney would almost require a new line to be built as little...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Greenways Provision (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: -----has been retained. There is another investment proposal that should get priority, namely, a rail line running from Portadown west through Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and Derry. That would have huge benefits for all the towns along that route and for connecting Letterkenny to Derry, which is a critical investment priority. That should be the priority, rather than...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 35, 58, 60 and 86 together. A draft report is being finalised by Arup, the consultants carrying out the review, for submission to the two Departments. It is anticipated that the finalised draft report will then be submitted for appropriate political approval on both sides of the Border. This is, however, complicated by the absence of an Executive and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The key investment decision, particularly in Donegal and the north-west, is that spur from Portadown via Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and Derry. My view is that it should be the first priority because those towns would really benefit. For example, a connection from Letterkenny to Derry would transform the town's relationship to the city. The question then is going to be for the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Sector Pensions (1 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 52 together. CIÉ have advised that the Group’s two pension schemes, namely the Regular Wages Scheme (“RWS”) and 1951 superannuation scheme (“1951 Scheme”), are currently not in compliance with the Minimum Funding Standard (MFS) as defined in the Pensions Act 1990. As the Deputy may be aware, the CIÉ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (1 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including delivering the Connecting Ireland Rural...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Capital Expenditure Programme (1 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: My Department has not directly undertaken projects in Westmeath in the period June 2020 – present. A significant quantity of capital funding issued by my Department, for active travel, public transport and national roads, is delivered via investment programmes under the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority. I have requested that the two...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (1 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: As the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.  The issue of increasing the number of carriages on Sunday train services on the Limerick to Galway route is an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann and I have therefore forwarded the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (1 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for developing an accessible, integrated and sustainable public transport network.   In light of the NTA's responsibilities for progressively making transport accessible, including the bus fleets servicing Bantry, Co....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: In the context of the National Roads Programme capital budget, which is provided by my Department to TII, significant funding has been provided towards the improvement of the N71 since 1994, funding a variety of improvement schemes. TII has provided my Department with details of a number of schemes that are relevant to the route. One proposed scheme is an extension to the existing Bandon...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Licences (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy is aware, the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), is the licensing authority for small public service vehicles (SPSVs) and An Garda Síochána is the licensing authority for the drivers of SPSVs. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector. In July 2021, the NTA increased the 12 month period that a taxi,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (2 Mar 2023)

Eamon Ryan: While Covid-19 undoubtedly had a profound impact on the public transport sector, I am pleased to advise that Ireland is an international outlier in terms of recovery, with passenger numbers now at or above pre-pandemic levels. This trend is particularly prevalent at weekends, where demand is in the region of 125% of pre-Covid numbers. By way of illustration, last week saw over 3.2 million...