Results 3,441-3,460 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd
- Air Services. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: On the Government policy to have at least two airlines, is it not implicit that there will not be two separate airlines if Ryanair owns both? In terms of the hostile bid â the point the Minister referred to on 1 December â a hostile bid means that something would not be in the best interests of the company or of the Government's shareholding, which is what I presume the Minister is...
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: Question 61: To ask the Minister for Transport if he has met the board and senior management of all 37 agencies under the aegis of his Department; the outcome of such meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46632/08]
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister has some 37 agencies under his remit. How many has he met? As he knows there was a review of his Department by the Department of the Taoiseach. Transport is a very critical Department, where â¬1.27 billion of taxpayers' money is being spent on public transport, â¬2.1 million on national, regional and local roads, â¬40 million on road safety, â¬48 million on coastguard...
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister is accountable in the Department.
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: How many has the Minister met?
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister has not answered the question I asked him. How many of the 37 has he met? The criticism I made is of the Department and the Minister is the leader of the Department in terms of policy. The report clearly states the Department needs to take a more proactive leadership role in setting and clarifying strategies. The issue is that taxpayers' money is being wasted in some of these...
- Air Services. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: Is it not a fact that the number of tourists from Britain has dropped significantly in the past year? The figure is down 17%. Is it not the case that the Minister's airport departure tax of â¬2 per passenger travelling to the United Kingdom will have an adverse impact on this decreasing number? Does the Minister not think he should do away with that tax? It is affecting profitability on...
- Air Services. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: It will. That is a facetious answer.
- Air Services. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister would not take my question.
- Departmental Review. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: It is a serious issue to suggest that having made their complaints to the Department of Transport, its business customers have not had them resolved after two years. While I accept the survey may have been anonymous, is there a complaints system or process within the Department so it can track its business customers' complaints? If there was, I am sure they would not have waited two years...
- Departmental Review. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: Two years later, they were not happy.
- Departmental Review. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The staff in the Department are probably too decentralised and one of the complaints is that they are in far too many buildings. There is only one case in which an assistant secretary and all his staff are located in one building. Therefore, there is a significant lack of communication and efficiency. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, will explain in answer to a later question how he...
- Road Traffic Offences. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: That was exactly the point I intended to raise with the Minister of State. One year ago, the Minister promised he would introduce legislation on mandatory testing at the scenes of accidents. If this were introduced and included a provision whereby a blood sample is tested for other substances, it would give an accurate figure of those who are in accidents. Those are the people who would...
- Road Traffic Offences. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.
- Road Traffic Offences. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister of State could deal with that now.
- Public Transport. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: One point is the gridlock in Dublin city causes a problem for buses as well as for everyone else and consequently, bus travel speeds are reducing all the time. In many cases, it would be quicker to walk, if possible, and it certainly would be much more efficient were one to cycle. I accept there are reasons for the decline in usage and fewer migrants using public transport appears to be an...
- Public Transport. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: It means the Minister's policies are not working.
- Public Transport. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister stated that Dublin Bus must change, which is true. Does the Minister agree there must be a much more proactive policy from Dublin Bus to use the private sector at peak times to use spare capacity? It does not make sense to have the buses to which I referred parked on a lot somewhere in County Kildare while at the same time, Dublin Bus buses, in their original livery colour and...
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: The key point is this constitutes a criticism of the lack of oversight by the Department. Many of the transport services the taxpayer pays for through the Minister are dealt with by State and semi-State agencies. The criticism is there is inadequate oversight of them. To be specific the commentary is there is no consensus among agencies of the Department as to whether the latter should...
- Departmental Agencies. (17 Dec 2008)
Fergus O'Dowd: Does the Minister not agree this leads to inefficiencies and wastage of money? I refer to the lack of oversight and the consequential lack of accountability and transparency regarding the billions of euro that are being spent on Transport. There is no oversight of them.