Results 861-880 of 5,767 for speaker:Olivia Mitchell

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: I agree that open skies offers opportunities as well as challenges for airports and airlines in Ireland, the EU and the United States. We are most concerned about what is currently the State airline, Aer Lingus. If it is to compete for routes, it must be present from the outset or it will miss the boat. Aer Lingus hopes to capitalise on the opportunity for additional long-haul routes and is...

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: My question concerns the implications for Irish airlines and airports. Aer Lingus is an Irish airline.

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Has the Minister given his advisers a deadline for an interim report on the means of attracting equity capital?

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: I have no guarantee that the question will be reached. Priority Questions should be a priority. To what question is the Minister referring?

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Question 4: To ask the Minister for Transport the progress made by his Department in developing a public transport commission; the date same will be operational; the functions and duties of the commission; if the introduction of competition into the Dublin bus market will be prioritised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36201/05]

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: I am thoroughly confused. I received a reply from the Minister to a parliamentary question a couple of months ago to the effect that he had moved away from the idea of a Dublin transportation authority. He mentioned a transport commission and then announced a Dublin transportation authority. I wonder what is in and what is out. Will the remit of the Dublin transportation authority merely be...

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Which is what?

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: What does the Minister now propose — a transport commission or a Dublin transportation authority?

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: The Minister is proposing two things.

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: I am as confused now as I was before the Minister started to speak. Who will be in charge of liberalising the bus market in Dublin? The Minister and his predecessors have promised this for at least nine years, during which time negotiations with Dublin Bus have been ongoing. When will he stop negotiating and take action? It will be years before Transport 21 will deliver its major...

Public Transport. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: If he does not know what the body will do, can the Minister, at least, say if he is committed to a competitive tendering process for the acquisition of buses in Dublin? If so, when?

Road Network. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Listening to the Minister's list, one would think Shannon was going to be the centre of the universe as a result of all the roads that will be built. The reality is that Shannon is facing an extremely difficult challenge in the coming year.

Road Network. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: The Atlantic corridor, which was supposed to open up the whole western seaboard and which is essential to Shannon if it is to prosper, has no timeframe. There is no start or finish date. The western railway will go nowhere near Shannon. It is unbelievable to build a railway in the west and not connect it to the major international airport. A feasibility study is even worse than the kiss of...

Road Network. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Will the Minister give a commitment to the west, at least in terms of transport infrastructure? Will he carry out an impact study to determine how to prioritise future investment to ensure that Shannon will survive as a major international airport serving the rest of Ireland and that the pull towards Dublin does not continue?

Road Network. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: It does not state that anywhere in the Minister's one-page plan.

Road Network. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: The Minister does not speak Fianna Fáil's language.

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: From the Opposition's point of view, the establishment of this new authority is a pig in a poke. We do not know what it is going to do or if the new legislation will be more than enabling in nature. What powers and functions will the body possess? What value will the body add if it simply amalgamates the testing and road safety functions? All that is wrong with those bodies is they are not...

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: What is the Minister's view on the open skies deal? Will it be in place prior to April 2008? If so, is he satisfied both Shannon and Dublin airports will not be disadvantaged and miss the boat by not establishing routes and so on?

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: I agree with the Minister that in the past it seemed that only long distance rail freight was economically viable. However, change is now occurring. Does the Minister accept that this situation will almost certainly change further for environmental reasons? Road freight will become increasingly expensive as petrol costs grow because we will probably have increasing supply instability in the...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Olivia Mitchell: Iarnród Éireann is selling off new wagons.