Results 5,741-5,760 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (5 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The provisions governing the appointment of members of the Board of State Bodies under my aegis are generally set out in the legislation establishing each body. These provisions make no reference to the age of prospective candidates and no upper age limit applies regarding membership of these boards.

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The report of the Dublin transport authority establishment team made a number of recommendations in respect of traffic management. The team concluded that there needed to be an integrated policy approach to traffic management across the greater Dublin area, based on international best practice. It recommended that the Dublin transport authority be obliged to prepare a strategic traffic...

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy raises an issue that is very much part of a modern developing economy. I agree the way Ireland has developed has resulted in this becoming a very significant issue. The NRA has managed its contracts — for example the Naas dual carriageway — with very strict penalties. It compelled the contractors to keep two lanes open in both directions, which worked very well. The issue...

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The planning, design and implementation of national roads improvement projects, including the Dublin Port tunnel and the M50, is a matter for the National Roads Authority and the local authorities concerned. Traffic management in general is a matter for the appropriate local authority notwithstanding what I have said about what will happen in future. In the case of the Dublin Port tunnel,...

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Specifically in respect of the Dublin Port tunnel, my Department has been keeping in touch with all stakeholders, including Dublin City Council and the NRA, to ensure a co-ordinated strategy, which takes account of the management of HGVs in Dublin city and the traffic impact on the M50, is developed for the opening of the tunnel. The development and implementation of the HGV management...

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy raised a number of points. It is amazing that I am continually obliged to come before the House to listen to discussion of this project, which involves putting in place the largest, single item of infrastructure in Europe at a cost of €750 million, by experts who know nothing about it and who have not seen it function. I reject the notion the port tunnel will somehow not make a...

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: One of the major impacts of the Dublin Port tunnel, to which the Deputies opposite refuse to refer, is the immediate benefit it will have for Dublin's streets and for its people and those who visit the city and do business here on a daily basis.

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I outlined earlier the number of vehicles to which the HGV strategy will refer and which will use the port tunnel. I also outlined the fact that most of the additional vehicles that are expected to appear on the M50 will use the road at off-peak times. This will help to balance the flow. One would prefer if the M50 had been completed before the opening of the port tunnel.

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: When the Deputy's party was in power it had no interest in public transport——

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: ——road development, health, education or any other matter of which one cares to think. I can only go by the Deputy's party's record and her particular interest in the development of public transport and road development. Immediate benefits will result from the opening of the port tunnel.

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The maximum benefits from the port tunnel and all of the surrounding road infrastructure will be fully realised when the various upgrades are completed.

Traffic Management. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I look forward to an outcome similar to that achieved in respect of the Naas dual carriageway which, when expanded to three lanes, transformed travel in and out of the city. The development of the Naas dual carriageway was completed with two lanes of traffic flowing in each direction. The position relating to the M50 is the same. On the Deputy's final point in respect of the NRA, she is...

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Very considerable road investment is being made under the provisions of Transport 21 in the Border, midlands and western region, far surpassing previous levels of investment in national roads in the area. Spending in the region for the years 2000 to 2005 amounted to €1.581 billion. The most recent forecast for the final outturn figure for national roads investment in the region for the...

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Why is it that every other colleague in the Dáil, from whatever party, seems to wish to join me in the photographs? It is hard to say that I do not accept responsibility. I seem to have been given it for almost every problem in the country, so we can knock that rumour on the head. I do not want to go through what may be an embarrassment for the Deputy, having read out an extraordinary...

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Frankly, it would take more than what the Deputy has said to embarrass me.

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I am pleased and thankful that people in the west have acknowledged that since I entered office as a Minister who understood the needs of the regions, I have substantially rebalanced investment in the roads programme.

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: It is evident from what I have said in the House today that in the past two years, investment in the BMW region has been extraordinarily substantial. The Deputy is right that it is somewhat behind. My job is not only to ensure that it is achieved. I would have thought she would have been pleased that I told her I intend to surpass what it was originally planned to spend in the western region.

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I am not sure how many Ministers of Transport have stood in the House to answer questions on the western rail corridor. However, I secured Government approval to reinstate it, and the money to do so.

National Development Plan. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: That is widely acknowledged in the west. The Deputy belatedly acknowledged this point. It is very important that those in the west and everywhere else understand that the investment we make in our capital city benefits everyone in the country, not only those who live in Dublin or on its periphery. There is business interaction with Dublin and the ability to transfer goods and services...

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I am satisfied that the investment of recent years in upgrading and expanding the rail network represents good value for money. The rail network has been revitalised and modernised and we now have a safer network with increased capacity, providing more services and carrying more passengers than ever. The benefits to the travelling public are evident in the increased numbers using the...