Results 3,961-3,980 of 9,442 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Aviation Industry (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I assure the Deputy that this issue is being taken extremely seriously at Government level. All Members understand the importance of aviation for Ireland as an island nation, including for foreign direct investment, tourism and connectivity as an island. I chaired a special meeting of the steering committee of the NCADF. My departmental officials maintain regular contact with the sector....

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Aviation Industry (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: As I said earlier, the aviation industry is absolutely critical for Ireland and its foreign direct investment, tourism, economy and for the functioning of an island nation. This Government acted quickly when the pandemic broke last year and offered a large range of supports. The airlines and aviation sector have benefited from more than €200 million of that suite of supports. ...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Aviation Industry (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I must remind the Deputy of the uncertainty we are facing. We were all hopeful this time last year that we would be out of this pandemic within a number of months but that has not been the case. As I said, the Government acted fast by putting in supports and those measures are still there, including PUP, EWSS, and the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. All of those are also available...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Aviation Industry (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am equally concerned about protecting people's jobs. That is why I am engaging with the aviation sector, those who are at the coalface within the industry, around what that reopening will look like when the public heath advice is there. Now is the time to be working on that and to protect as many jobs as possible. That is the work I am doing with my officials within the national civil...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: The current public health emergency has had a profoundly disruptive effect on the learning and testing system in this country. I can assure the Deputy that the Department is very aware of the challenges facing the Road Safety Authority, RSA, as it works hard to manage the backlog in the driver testing and theory testing service. The driving test service is not currently operating as normal...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: My understanding is that testing capacity is at the maximum allowed under public health advice. There is a limit to the number of tests that can be physically carried out each day due to the level 5 restrictions. Even with the hire of extra driver testers, that in itself will not help the current backlog due to the time involved and the limitations on the throughput in the centres. I...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: Deputy O'Rourke can be assured that whatever resources are needed in order to alleviate this backlog will be provided. I have sanctioned 40 extra testers and they should be in place by the end of June. Given the public health restrictions under level 5, there is a physical limit to the number of tests that can be undertaken. I assure the Deputy that if more testers are required then more...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Development (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: The primary function of State ports is to facilitate maritime transport, which is the most important means of connecting Ireland to international markets, accounting for more than 90% of Ireland's international trade, in volume terms. At the same time, it is recognised that there is a pressing need for Ireland to have the port capacity in place to exploit the opportunities presented by...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Development (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I agree with what Deputy Murphy said about the importance of offshore renewable energy. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is present and I can attest to his passion and commitment to ensuring this is rolled out. Any funding provided to ports can only be a contribution towards the costs and would have to be in compliance with state aid rules. It is envisaged that this would...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ports Development (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy. We have to identify funding streams, which is what the Department is actively doing. We are engaging with the European Commission to seek changes to the CEF criteria to allow EU funding of port infrastructure for offshore renewable energy in the next 2021-23 funding stream. We are also seeking to influence the next TEN-T regulations so that green infrastructure projects...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: The current public health emergency has had a profoundly disruptive effect on the learning and testing system in this country. I can assure the Deputy that the Department is very aware of the challenges facing the RSA as they work hard to further manage the backlog in the Driver Theory Testing Service. The Driver Theory Test has not been deemed to be an essential service under Level...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: The current public health emergency has had a profoundly disruptive effect on the driver learning and testing system in this country. I can assure the Deputy that my officials and I are very aware of the challenges facing the RSA as they work hard to further manage the backlog in the Driver Testing Service and we continue to monitor the situation and work with the Authority. RSA driver...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: A driving licence exchange agreement is now in place between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Road Traffic (Recognition of Driving Licences) (United Kingdom) Order 2020 (S.I. 683 of 2020), made under section 23A of the Road Traffic Act 1961, was signed on 22 December 2020 and came into force at 11pm on 31 December 2020 (the end of the transition period). The agreement recognises UK...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Airport Policy (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I would like to thank the Deputy for her question on Shannon Airport.  As the Deputy is aware Shannon Airport, a subsidiary of Shannon Group, has been severely impacted by Covid-19 and given the unprecedented challenges faced by the Group, I committed to undertaking an examination of the future viability and sustainability of the entire Group.    The outcome of this...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: In accordance with EU Single Market rules, EU operators of flights into or out of Ireland do not require an authroisation from my Department and, therefore, my Department does not hold records of such movements. The Department provides authorisations permitting commercial air transport operations by third country air operators to, from, within and over the State.  ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: Specific details on the number of persons awaiting a driver test and theory test are held by the Road Safety Authority.  I have therefore referred this part of the question to the Authority for direct reply.  I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days. The current public health emergency has had a profoundly disruptive effect...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Driver Licensing Service (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: A further extension to the expiry dates of driving licences has been introduced in response to the continued disruption caused by Covid-19 to driver licensing services in Ireland and across the EU. The extension will apply to different groups of licence holders including those who benefited from extensions in 2020. Further information can be found on the Road Safety Authority (RSA)...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: As at week ending 14 March 2021, standard applications for driving licences are taking on average 17 working days to process by the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS), which is provided by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). Online applications that do not require review are taking 1 day to process. Postal applications are taking on average 21 days, while applications for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Road Safety Authority is currently examining a number of strategies to increase the number of driving tests within current health constraints with an eye to resuming wider testing after level 5. These strategies include increasing the number of testing staff to help reduce and, over time, eliminate the testing backlog that has developed as a result of the pandemic. To this end,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Airport Facilities (24 Mar 2021)

Hildegarde Naughton: I would like to thank the Deputy for his question on Shannon Group. As the Deputy is aware, given the unprecedented challenges faced by Shannon Group as a result of Covid-19, I committed to undertaking an examination of the future viability and sustainability of the Group.  The outcome of this examination was reflected in a recent Memorandum to Government on Shannon Group. ...