Results 6,721-6,740 of 32,610 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Senators for their contributions. I agree with most of what has been said. As Senator Mooney said, 20 km/h is slow. I offer my continued sympathy to Jake Brennan’s family. When the Jake’s Legacy Campaign began, it sought mandatory implementation of this speed limit via a directive from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I believed then, as I believe now,...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Just to pick up on something the Senator has said for the record of the House, he made the point that the UK is looking at miles per hour, whereas we of course are looking at kilometres per hour. It is a really important distinction as there was a campaign in place more broadly about the concept of "20 is plenty". That figure of 20 referred to miles per hour whereas we are implementing...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senators. I admire the ability of Senator Barrett to look at all the different pieces of legislation that are coming through and to see if there is an opportunity to progress matters about which he feels strongly.Of course he is correct, as is Senator O'Neill, to be concerned about the fact that insurance premia are going up. As Minister who has responsibility for road safety it...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The power to which the Senator refers already exists under section 40 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. The Senator is correct to say the Garda need to have the power to require production of a driving licence but that power already exists under section 40 of that Act.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I would not say to the Senator that this is always a matter that is addressed because it is always something we have to keep under review. The provision is in the 1961 Act giving the Garda the power required for the production of a driving licence. I should say in regard to the Senator's amendment, sections of the Bill focus primarily on cyclists. An unintended consequence of this would be...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Ireland's commercial vehicle road worthiness testing, CVRT, regime is fully in compliance with European Union roadworthiness testing directive 2009/40/EC and operates within a framework of EU legislation which stipulates the testing standards for member states in regard to various categories of vehicles. In accordance with current EU requirements, not all trailers are required to be...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: In regard to Senator Mooney's question on cycling, it is in recognition of the risks outlined by the Senator that last year, I made the decision to allow fixed charge notices to be applicable to a number of offences relating to the use of a bicycle. Two of the offences relate to a cyclist riding a pedal cycle without reasonable consideration and with having no front lamp or rear lamp being...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The matters which are the subject of the amendment are all important. Carrying out research on road safety issues is one of the responsibilities of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, which has conducted a great deal of relevant research on a wide range of matters, including some of those listed in the amendment. Likewise, the availability of relevant information in statistical form and...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (26 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Senators for what they have just done. The passage of the Bill through the Seanad is immensely helpful in dealing with the issue of road safety. Every Senator has touched on the fact that every life lost on the roads is one too many. The country has made huge progress in reducing the loss of life. At its awful peak in dealing with this tragedy, over 600 people a year were being...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Staff Retirements (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: ​As my Department has not received any objections from civil servants who were retiring on reaching age 65 years, I cannot provide any of the detailed information requested by the Deputy. I have asked the non-commercial State Agencies under the aegis of my Department to provide the Deputy with the information requested. If the Deputy does not receive a reply from the agencies within...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Motor Insurance Regulation (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together. My responsibilities, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, with respect to motor insurance, are limited to the requirement under the Road Traffic Acts relating to compulsory insurance for drivers of mechanically propelled vehicles.  I have no role regarding legislation concerning the matter raised, or for the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Roads Maintenance Funding (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: ​The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities' own resources supplemented by State road grants.  The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the House for the opportunity to introduce the Public Transport Bill 2015 today. At the outset I emphasise that this is a technical Bill that amends six existing statutes and does not involve any new regulatory policy. It is a short Bill comprising just ten sections, as passed by the Dáil. Broadly speaking, the Bill amends the following Acts: the Dublin Transport Authority Act...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank all Senators for highlighting the many issues that have been raised. Given the broad range of areas covered by the Bill, unsurprisingly a breadth of matters have been raised by each of the Senators who have spoken. I will try to respond to each of their queries in turn. Senator Sean D. Barrett spoke about the role of the National Transport Authority, NTA, and asked whether it might...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Only a relatively small portion of the timeframe involved is related to the availability of funding to the Exchequer. Much of it is driven by how much time it will take to construct a railway order, the understandable work that will need to be done in the lodging of that order with An Bord Pleanála and how much time it will take the board to consider it. The procurement process will...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator asked if the legislative basis for congestion charge already exists. This Bill does not create the ability to do it. Most of the discussion on congestion charging and multi-point tolling focuses on the M50. I have said that until we substantially expand our public transport capacity, we would not be in favour of changing that and introducing a new tolling regime. Given that, I...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: Representatives of the NTA and Bus Éireann appeared before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications in recent weeks to discuss the current provision of services. I am not aware of the specific issue the Senator has mentioned. I will ask the NTA and Bus Éireann to provide me an update as to what is happening and I will furnish that to the Senator.

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: I am well aware of the Senator's point.The challenge we have is that the cost of the buses to which the Senator refers is multiples of that relating to the vehicles we can access which are diesel-powered but which are considerably cleaner and more efficient than they have been in the past. I have engaged with Dublin Bus on this matter and it is considering all kinds of measures to make its...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: It would amount to multiples of the cost. We are considering the matter very closely with Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to see what further progress can be made. With regard to the overall public transport network, the answers are obvious but still worth stating. We must try to make our buses as environmentally friendly as possible. Services such as the Luas and a metro could have a...

Seanad: Public Transport Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Jan 2016)

Paschal Donohoe: The short answer is that it absolutely is being considered.