Results 3,441-3,460 of 9,442 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: This was agreed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. All of this work is happening quickly. The Chairman has outlined the situation regarding midnight tonight, green status and no restrictions. Currently, the test is validated in the member state. If someone is travelling from France, for example, its validated test is recognised by the health authorities in France. That will be deemed...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Department. The only validated test recognised in Ireland is the PCR test, unless something has happened since we came into this committee room. The PCR test is the gold standard. My understanding is that if people travel from another EU member state to Ireland, they will have to take a test that is recognised within that member state and certified by a credible entity. Many member...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: This will be a Government decision. Obviously, we will consult the Department of Health and our health officials and get the best health advice. None of us wants the virus being brought to Ireland and causing more issues. We must protect our testing regime. This is about instilling confidence in passengers who want to travel. No one will travel if he or she does not have faith in our...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: Having everything rolled out will depend on testing capacity. Realistically, we will not have everything rolled out across Dublin Airport and the regional airports within two weeks, but we will have a-----

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: My understanding is that no antigen test is rapid. I can understand-----

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: I cannot give the Chairman a commitment that it will be done within two weeks. I do not know if a second type of test will be validated in that time. There is more than just the antigen test. Work on validating the LAMP test is happening, and other types of test that are under consideration could come on board. All of these issues, including rolling out the infrastructure, are being...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: This is the Minister's area, but the A5 project is within the programme for Government and is a definite commitment. There has been considerable North-South engagement on transport, for example, cross-Border rail and bus services, interbus agreements and the protocol around same, and ensuring we will not have a lack of connectivity post Brexit. After the end of the transition period, a UK...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is part of the July stimulus. This has come up when I met a lot of the county's executives. I would say: "Please roll them out fast." There are also many local authorities which are able to carry out these works by the end of November and there are calls asking if any funding is left over. I am speaking frankly. What I will say is there is legislative provision in place that would...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: My officials might say that they are well under way and works are advanced.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: There is no date but it is happening within the next few months.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 31 – Transport (Revised) (21 Oct 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the committee members for their time.

Confidence in Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Motion (10 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Tánaiste gave a full and frank account of his actions and motivations last week in this House and took considerable time answering Deputies' questions. Today is two hours of statements and counter statements, a rehash of last week's events when we are in the midst of the most serious health crisis to face our nation and staring down the barrel of a no-deal Brexit. We will spend...

Regional Airports: Motion [Private Members] (11 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Deputies for their valuable contributions to this important discussion. The importance of the aviation industry in terms of its contribution to Ireland's GDP, foreign direct investment, FDI, and job creation cannot be understated. Aviation plays this vital role in facilitating economic growth, but on a human level it also links different cultures and peoples. The national...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Driver Test (11 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this really important matter. The driver test service and the driver theory test are the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The Department has been in constant contact with the RSA since the start of the pandemic regarding all of its services, the impact of Covid-19 on those services and how they can best be maintained in the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Driver Test (11 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy. My understanding is that the 36 figure refers to the number of extra driver testers who will be in place. I know how concerned many constituents are about this and while the service is limited during level 5 restrictions, the Road Safety Authority is examining ways of increasing the number of tests within the health constraints, with an eye on resuming the wider testing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (12 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: The plan for living with Covid-19 and the Government decision of 20 October both affirm that any testing model implemented for international travel should not impinge on HSE testing capacity. In light of this, any testing for international travel will need to draw on resources from the private sector, which are not being accessed by the HSE. The testing regime envisaged under the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (12 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: As Deputy O'Rourke is aware, we are listening to the advice of NPHET at the moment. We are at level 5. We have aligned ourselves with the EU traffic-light approach. People who come to this country from a red-list country will be asked to restrict their movements for 14 days. After five days, they can avail of PCR tests here. Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports and the private sector will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (12 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: Deputy O'Rourke raises a very valid point. Whatever we do at national level with the health protocols, there is a level of responsibility on anyone who is planning to travel here for essential work or who is returning home for Christmas to visit family, relatives and friends. It is in our interests to ensure that we act responsibly, that such persons take a PCR test in advance if they are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (12 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: Covid-19 has created difficulties for many public services, including the National Driver Licensing Service, NDLS and the driver testing service, which are provided by the Road Safety Authority. Closures during the initial lockdown earlier this year led inevitably to backlogs, while restrictions on the services, which are necessary in the interests of public health, have reduced capacity...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (12 Nov 2020)

Hildegarde Naughton: The RSA is working to expand that capacity. The authority is working with its providers to see how it can do just exactly what the Deputy has outlined in regarding to extending weekend hours, overtime, the recruitment of additional staff as well as extending the postal service. It will need that extra capacity in terms of resources, but, at the same time, the throughput at the testing...