Results 9,001-9,020 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: If he does not have confidence in me then why does he want me intervening? Instead he should have told me to keep out of it. He has constantly called for me to intervene. He should make up his mind.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Deputy should make up his mind.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Let us have a few suggestions on the way forward.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I urge him to tell me why I should intervene and what I should do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Let me address that issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Of course I will. The number has increased by 4 million since 2010 or 9%. Last year the total number of Bus Éireann PSO passengers was 32 million. I shall answer the Deputy's question on the report that was received last night. I concede that members will not have had time to digest the report. Members will have plenty of time to digest it soon. The report could not be just...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The report contains stuff that is very commercially sensitive. I know that the Deputy is very concerned about this matter. Therefore, I will ask that he is briefed by the people in my Department or the NTA who compiled the report. They will give him a full idea of what has been redacted. It would be a pity if commercially sensitive information got into the public arena. I know I can rely...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I have done them. The Deputy talked about a public transport network being adequately funded. That is why I have increased the PSO subvention and will continue, hopefully, to increase the PSO subvention.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is right that the subvention is lower. It is just lower than it was in 2008.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, it has, but it is not very helpful to take these figures completely out of context. The Deputy is well aware that 2008 was the high point and of why it fell. The economy and the country's finances were in absolute turmoil, something on which we will not comment now. The Deputy is well aware that during the recovery the subvention has increased. It has been increasing for the past two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Deputy has asked a lot of questions and I want to address-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Deputy was here last week. He should have addressed the question to the NTA and I presume he did. It is an operational matter. I am not here to answer questions about operational matters. The NTA decides and it is independent of me. Presumably, the Deputy addressed the question to it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I think the NTA has stated the service Athlone will be an extension of the existing PSO route.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: It is very easy to call for getting all of the parties together. I am interested in an industrial dispute being sorted out by the two parties involved. If all of the parties were to come together and discuss policy, it would be a completely different matter. For now, it is imperative that the two parties get together to avoid a strike. If I was to call together all interested parties in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: What will be addressed at the WRC are the industrial relations issues. The Deputy is right. The deficit of €30 million to which he referred will, presumably, be addressed in a business plan which the company is composing and will produce shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The report which the Deputy only received last night for reasons I have explained addresses procedure, enforcement, scheduling, compliance, the efficiency of applications and such issues. The NTA is required to produce a report every five years. The Deputy is asking me when we will address the issues dealt with in the report. The report was only produced last month. It is being examined by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Sorry, it was October 2016. It is being examined by my Department. I will be very happy to look at the recommendations that will come to me shortly, consider them and bring legislation forward if it is recommended.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The recommendations will come from my Department very shortly. They have not been made yet, so I could not have seen them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Department has to consider them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Everything in this report has been and will be given serious consideration. It is not a trivial matter. It is a matter that has to be treated very seriously because it is a matter that might provoke and prompt legislation.