Results 681-700 of 20,758 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Other Questions: Penalty Points System (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: I could not agree more with the Deputy's last point. I also take on board his reference to efforts by previous Governments, in co-operation with the Opposition, in this vital area. We can never be complacent in this regard and must always seek to improve existing legislation. That is why, following on from the assessment of the Oireachtas committee, that the changes we are proposing will...

Other Questions: Penalty Points System (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The Minister and I are aware of the claims regarding the alleged quashing of penalty points for road traffic offences. When provided with the documents the Minister forwarded a list of all the allegations to the Minister for Justice and Equality expressing his concern and asked that the matter be fully investigated. The Government believes the matter must be fully investigated. I...

Other Questions: Transport Policy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 32 together. According to the census in 2011 around 1.14 million people drove to work or were passengers in a car, representing 69% of commuters. That was very similar to 2006 when around 1.18 million people drove to work or were passengers in a car. Despite the fall in car commuting numbers, due to lower numbers in employment, car...

Other Questions: Transport Policy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: I have taken the Deputy's comments on board. Everything is being done to ensure the public transport network is maintained and enhanced from a qualitative perspective, in particular, to make customer journeys a better experience, whether that is through WiFi, the RTPI, the leap card and many other adjustments. While I was surprised by some of the figures produced by the analysis, I was...

Other Questions: Transport Policy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: I acknowledge the Deputy is making these comments sincerely but if we were to do everything he said, Dublin Bus would not be sustainable. It is unfortunate that fares had to be increased modestly. The Network Direct project has been successful in many ways and I acknowledge people have issues with it. Nobody knows that better because they come to me as well. It was necessary to ensure...

Other Questions: Transport Policy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The Deputy is passionate about these issues. He has spoken previously to me about them and I have some sympathy for his position. It is something we will examine in the future but there is no precedent for such fines. I have witnessed the same issues and, at certain times of the day, they could cause serious disruption.

Other Questions: Transport Policy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: That does not need a response.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Public Transport (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: On 24 July, the Government decided to provide additional PSO funding of €36 million to CIE to ensure that the companies could continue to operate for the rest of 2012.  This would bring the total PSO subvention for this year to €278 million, higher than the subvention level for 2010, and the fifth highest level of subvention ever. In November, €16...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Public Transport (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: There is no doubt that 2013 will be a tough year for CIE. A certain level of funding is available and the Department must find the funding for the coming years. We have put in place a three year programme and next year CIE will receive €226 million. We are working closely with the company to ensure it can provide the services with that subvention in 2013. There are cost cutting...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Public Transport (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: It is certainly Christmas time in here, that question was teed up. The Government is committed to public transport and I assure the Deputy that I work very closely with Deputy Varadkar on the issues he has raised. We all know 2013 will be a challenging year but we are working with everyone every day to maintain services and ensure they are delivered in a satisfactory manner. The push...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of the taxi industry under the Taxi Regulation Act, 2003, and is also the lead agency with responsibility for implementation of the recommendations of the Taxi Regulation Review Report 2011, including the implementation of the taxi “branding” as set out in that Report.   ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The National Transport Authority was established on 1st December 2009 and responsibility for the provision of infrastructure projects in the Greater Dublin Area, such as LUAS Broombridge, now comes under the remit of the Authority. There has been extensive engagement between the Railway Procurement Agency, Dublin City Council, Dublin Bus and other stakeholders over...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycle Facilities (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: This question is about the expansion of the Dublin Bikes scheme. Currently, I understand that the National Transport Authority is working with Dublin City Council  to enable the first phase of this expansion to progress.  I am informed that this phase is focussed on expanding the scheme eastwards into the Docklands and westwards to Heuston Station.  Discussions are...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Maintenance (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: This Question concerns the maintenance and upkeep of the roads network. The Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport has responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Specifically, the improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under sections 17 and 19 of the Roads...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.  Following the establishment of the National Transport Authority (NTA) in December 2009, the implementation and development of infrastructure projects in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), such as LUAS, comes under the remit of the NTA. ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Budgets (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: My Department’s 2013 Budget allocations are published and available on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform website. My Departments Vote 31 Gross allocation for 2013 is €1,658m comprising of a Capital expenditure allocation of €900m and a Current expenditure allocation of €758m. As part of the Estimates and...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The Road Safety Authority is in the process of preparing the next Road Safety Strategy, which will cover an 8-year period from 2013 to 2020. The aim of the Strategy, like all previous, will be to save lives and prevent injuries by reducing the number and severity of collisions on our roads. The Strategy will contain key, definable actions that will seek to achieve this...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Tolls (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: This Question is about outlining the income from road tolling.   The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, has responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The implementation of individual national road schemes, including Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects which provide for tolling, are matters for the National Roads...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Aviation Sector (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: My Department's Statement of Strategy 2011-2014 outlines the over-arching goal for the aviation sector, which is to ensure that it supports Ireland's economic and social goals in a safe, competitive, cost-effective and sustainable manner and to ensure maximum connectivity for Ireland with the rest of the world. Within this context, one of my key priorities for next year is the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: State Airports (20 Dec 2012)

Alan Kelly: The Deputy’s question relates to comments by Minister Varadkar regarding flights related to the on-going transiting of military personnel through Shannon airport. While they are often described as military flights, they are in fact civilian flights as they are civilian charter aircraft. Because they carry military personnel and equipment, the flights are subject to the...