Results 26,521-26,540 of 26,791 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I have worked with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on the national disability strategy and our Department has made a detailed submission to that. I have also met with disability public transport users, who are a very important part of our stakeholder forum. If someone has a disability, it should not be any different for him or her to access public transport. Regarding the physical fleet we...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: That will be part of the budgetary process. The key drivers in passenger numbers are availability, reliability and frequency. Our fares compare favourably with many of our peer countries. People can see the road of travel we are taking with the expansion of free travel for five- to eight-year-olds and companion travel for seniors with free travel and others who have it. We are allowing...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I visited Foynes and saw the rail line. In Adare where the bypass work is happening, people can get a really good look at the rail line. The trains are being commissioned. It is a great piece of work by Iarnród Éireann. It has been an exemplar of how these projects can be delivered on time and on budget. The company has the expertise. Part of the all-Ireland rail review will...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The NDP is tied into that as well. I cannot give the Deputy a timeframe regarding Sligo. We have to get the Limerick-Foynes line up and running. That will be welcomed. I will have an answer for the Deputy on Killarney before this session concludes and send that to him.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We will and we are. The Deputy is right to highlight the deficits. There is an infrastructural deficit in many areas of the country. It is acute in the west and north west. If we look at the north west further north than the Deputy's constituency, I am very disappointed about the decision on the A5 this week because the Government had committed to supporting our colleagues in the North...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The all-Ireland rail review recommended the reinstatement of the Athenry to Claremorris section. My focus and that of the Ministers of State, Deputies Canney and Buttimer, is on taking forward the recommendation from the review around. We are working on that with the European Investment Bank and other funding mechanisms to supplement the NDP. Ultimately, the NDP review provide those...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I am just coming to it now.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I will not give the Deputy a specific timeframe because I do not have it. It depends on what the allocation is in the NDP review. It is dependent upon that. As I said to Deputy O'Gorman, there is a process. In July, there will be a conclusion to the review of the NDP. We will come back in September regarding how we will have allocated that across the Vote, about which I am happy to come...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I am guided by advice I get from experts. The review did not recommend the Claremorris to Sligo section but it noted it should be looked at on a regular basis. That is the position at present. My position does not differ from the position my officials articulated to the committee last week when it had its briefing.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: No. The 41 intercity rail cars that I mentioned as now being in operation were in addition. What will happen is when electric carriages go on the other intercity and DART carriages, and on the northern commuter line, that will free up other rail cars to be moved to other lines. These will be additional, so it will increase our fleet by 185 carriages, or in that order. That will be an...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: It will start happening from late next year. From late 2026, we will see further additional carriages going on to the regional lines. It will be late next year, in quarter 4.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy will know, as he is a TD in the region, and I certainly do, given that I know Galway very well, that it is part of the solution. It is not the overall solution, but the reason for the delay in the Galway ring road is constant objections to the road, an inability by people to make decisions and people blocking it. They are entitled to have a view but it is not one I share. I...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Of course I am concerned about it. That is why I brought forward the Planning and Development Act 2024 last year in the Dáil, which the Deputy's party opposed, to streamline planning, set statutory timeframes for planning for An Bord Pleanála and define for the first time if observations are made or judicial reviews taken, the basis on which these are taken and to bring forward a...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I said that new carriages would make a difference. The Deputy acknowledged that, which I appreciate. We have significantly increased funding for an accessibility retrofit programme. It is up to €25 million per annum. All new infrastructure is designed with universal access principles, but some stations require changes to platforms, which we are doing. That is under way. I can...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: There is. There is a commitment in the programme for Government, agreed by the Government, to advancing driver exchange with the United States. The real complication is the exchange has to be done with each individual state. It is not on an overall national basis. We have started work on that. I met Minister of State, Neale Richmond, a couple of weeks ago about this. We have identified...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his engagement regarding road projects. He has been very vocal on that matter. Cork is the largest county in our country. If we look at the road network across Ireland, there are over 100,000 kilometres of road. That is one of the largest road networks per capita in the European Union. We have a very extensive network. We work with our local authorities, which...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: For clarity, do they receive any funding at the moment?

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I will have a look at that.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy can be sure I will ask my team to take up the matters relating to those two roads with Cork County Council. We will also come back on the inshore search and rescue.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The reason there is no line item for new trams in 2025 is that there is no provision for them this year.