Results 9,021-9,040 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

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

Shane Ross: No. It is fine.

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

Shane Ross: I will take the last question first. It is somewhat rhetorical language that the Deputy is using, saying that I sat back and did nothing. That is patently false. I can see what she is saying but that is absolutely untrue. I have been extraordinarily active in this area. What I have not done is the one thing she has asked me to do. That does not mean inaction - quite the opposite. I do...

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

Shane Ross: I do not think it would have been helpful then either. I do not believe it would be any more helpful at the 11th hour to do that. I am very hopeful that the parties will get together again in the next few days and behave in a responsible manner. That is the consistent position I have taken. The Deputy holds a different point of view but it is not one the Government shares. I reject that...

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

Shane Ross: I have only four minutes; maybe I can try to get through the questions and she can come back.

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

Shane Ross: The Deputy spoke about a review on social services. The NTA decides what is and what is not a social service. That is not a matter for me. However, I would say our PSO services have been expanded and the NTA has already decided to extend PSO in response to the change on the Athlone to Westport route, which is a pretty aggressive and rapid response. The Deputy referred to a second-class...

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

Shane Ross: I would not call it a second-class service. The Deputy must be used to first class and I am used to second class.

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

Shane Ross: The reason there would be less frequency was because there were too many buses presumably on the routes at this stage.

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

Shane Ross: I am not talking about saturation; I am saying it was because there were too many. Let me address the Dublin-Clonmel situation. In Clonmel, to which the Deputy referred, the NTA determined that no action was needed at the minute except for changes to the rural transport timetable to facilitate connectivity to commercial services. That service calls at more towns and villages than...

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

Shane Ross: If they were to pull out following the public service route pulling out-----

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

Shane Ross: -----I am saying the public service route would presumably be restored.

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

Shane Ross: It is an Expressway route anyway.

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

Shane Ross: I am sure Deputy Munster is not misleading anybody deliberately. I am not removing any routes.

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

Shane Ross: I am not removing any routes at all. Bus Éireann is removing routes, not me.

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

Shane Ross: The company is looking at a business plan and at those options. Presumably, we will be able to come up with a figure. To talk about insolvency at the moment, however, might not be the most responsible attitude to take. While I know it is convenient to paint a situation in which there will be Armageddon-----

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

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Barry. The figure is being worked out by the company, which is looking at that option. As far as I know, the figure is not available at the moment, but we know it will be very high and it is not an option-----

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

Shane Ross: I will get back to the Deputy when I have a figure and when the company has a figure available. These is no figure available on that at the moment. I wish the Deputy would accept that.

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

Shane Ross: The policy the Government is pursuing is not disastrous. It is disastrous in Deputy Barry's view. As of now, it has not been proven or there is no indication that it is disastrous.

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

Shane Ross: Deputy Barry would love to see it. Ever since I have come to the committee, he has been painting disaster. Whether the wish is the father of the thought, or the thought is the father of the wish, I do not know, but that is what he wants to see. What we are trying to do is avoid exactly that situation which Deputy Barry is painting. There are people working night and day to avoid that....

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

Shane Ross: Let me finish. Deputy Barry had a go. We realise the disaster it would be if this company had to close down. That is what we are trying to prevent and it is why we are asking people to be reasonable and to realise how difficult a situation that would be.

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

Shane Ross: It is quite depressing to face Deputy Barry when he is making statements which are patently false to back up an argument which is irresponsible and reckless. To say that I wish to create a low-paid company is in direct contradiction of what I said in the statement I just read to him. There is no intention to do that at all. That is not the model.