Results 7,461-7,480 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: There is no great difficulty with any of them. Bearing in mind the difficulties, it still seems that in terms of bed capacity which is being examined by the HSE, it will be necessary to build a step-down facility either in north or west Dublin, the two areas experiencing acute difficulties. The age profile of the population in question which lives in some of the most densely populated areas...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: The contract is within two weeks of being signed. There will be one tolling point on the road in the short term and in the long term.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: Please, Deputy Allen.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: I ask the Deputy to stop interrupting.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: I want to answer the Deputy.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: The contract will be finished in two weeks and there will be one tolling point on the road. The contract for the new operator of the barrier-free toll is under negotiation and will be awarded shortly. That should be in place in 2008. Phases one and three of the construction of the M50, which is a â¬1 billion project, will be finished to coincide with the implementation of barrier-free...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: The key point is not additional money. When we buy National Toll Roads' rights on the road for â¬50 million, the income will come back to the State for upgrading the M50. It will not be a case of double money because NTR will cease to receive it. That is how the contract will operate. We made the decision and there has been no change. One year ago, I said in this House that the NRA,...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: I also thank the truckers for the 50% increase. The reason we built the tunnel was to take vehicles away from residential areas and put them onto the M50. That was the plan 20 years ago. There has been a reduction of 80% in the number of trucks going through and polluting residential areas all over the city and they are now on a road on which â¬1 billion is being spent for construction....
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: Nobody saw that.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: People were estimating 20,000 cars per year in 2010 rather than the 100,000 we have. The infrastructure for the Naas road and the tunnel has been enormously successful.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: The intervening work is now under way. Two phases will be completed next year and work on the other phase will be complete by 2010. It is sensible to remove NTR from the equation, introduce barrier-free tolling and complete the â¬1 billion project. Completion of the work will mean a lot to Deputy Rabbitte's constituents and to people generally.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: The position is that the Government decided to buy out NTR from a contract dating from 1987. As for the arguments on who negotiated the contract, the records make it clear who did so. However, that is neither here nor there. From August 2008, a new company will take over the barrier-free tolling. Negotiations in this regard are ongoing and it will be appointed shortly. This will coincide...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: It has been done a number of times. I was even present on one occasion at which a trial was conducted. The engineers involved are the same people who have undertaken the biggest infrastructural job in Europe recently and their view is that doing so would accomplish very little. While a car going straight through might benefit, on the interchanges and on a number of the other points, they...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: It is the reason that infrastructural development is an ongoing process throughout the world. The Naas Road and the tunnel are finished and â¬1 billion is being spent on the M50. The Government will buy out NTR and will remove the barrier toll. It will be a single price in that people will go through it and receive one account for one crossing. It will not be multipoint and this will be...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: On the first point, and I will reply to Deputy Sargent if he gives me the papers. We need not debate it here. Some 97% or 98% of the houses had a problem and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government told the local authority not to involve itself. I since looked at the papers and Deputy Sargent is incorrect. However, I will answer him for the record.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: Ireland strongly supports the leadership provided by the European Union on this issue.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: Deputy Sargent is right that it is an important issue. Regarding a new international agreement to continue progress made under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in the medium to long term to 2020 and beyond, environment ministers met yesterday to agree a position whereby the European Union would propose that developed nations agree to reduce greenhouse gas...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: From 1990ââ
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: In reply to Deputy Sargent, Ireland has successfully decoupled its greenhouse gas emissions. From 1990 to 2005, emissions grew by 25% whereas our economy grew by 150%. This is reflected in the emissions intensity of the Irish economy. In 2004, emissions per unit of GDP were 48% of their 1990 level. The equivalent figure for the European Union is 78%. The actions we must take include...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2007)
Bertie Ahern: ââcreating new opportunities for farmers in bio-fuel production and creating new bio-fuel industry in the countryââ