Results 9,461-9,480 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Data (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Figures published by the Central Statistics Office show that Irish tourism is enjoying a very good year and all of our main overseas markets are showing growth. For the nine month period between January and September, the number of overseas visits to Ireland increased by 6.4% to over 5.4 million. Visits from North America were up by 14.6%; visits from Mainland Europe were up by...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Funding (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is funded through a combination of Exchequer and non-Exchequer funding.  The detail of the Estimates for my Department in 2014 are currently being finalised.    In consultation with the RSA, which has significant income and reserves of its own available, I will ensure that the Authority has adequate...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Budget 2014 (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 37 together. This was a very good budget for tourism with the most significant result being the retention of the reduced VAT rate for the tourism sector. This measure has been critical to reviving the fortunes of this sector since its introduction.  This is complemented by the reduction of the air travel tax to zero - the impact...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Motor Tax Collection (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: There are no plans at present to introduce a pay-as-you-go road user charge for HGVs in Ireland.    As the Deputy will appreciate, such a decision would have cross-Governmental implications and could only be taken after extensive consideration. However, the National Roads Authority has carried out preliminary work on the issue of HGV road charging. This work includes...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Statistics (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: After a record low in the number of road deaths in 2012 and a year-on-year reduction in each of the previous seven years, it appears as if there will be an increase in the number of road fatalities this year and this is of great concern to me.  I am aware that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the Gardaí meet regularly to discuss the causes of road accidents and the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Subsidies (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 53 together. In relation to the question as to the rationale behind the reduction in the level of subvention to Dublin Bus, the answer to that can be found in the state's overall financial position and the significant cuts to public expenditure that have been required as a result. The Government attaches great importance to the continued...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme.  The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Noting the above position, I...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: State Airports (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The reduction of the air travel tax to zero from next April is a clear indication of the Government's major support for Irish tourism and air travel generally. In terms of the marketing of any new routes, this is primarily a matter for the airlines themselves.  Tourism Ireland, as the agency responsible for the overseas promotion of Ireland as a tourist...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects Status (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme.  The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Noting the above position, I...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: My Department maintains regular contact with its counterparts in Northern Ireland and will continue to liaise with a view to assessing the scope for drawdown of funding for road projects under the TEN-T Regulation. I would have to note, however, that any funding contribution from TEN-T would be quite limited with the bulk of the funding needing to come from the Exchequer. This does...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: The Gathering Initiatives (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The Gathering Ireland 2013 aimed primarily to generate additional tourist numbers and revenue in 2013.  However, it also aimed to have a longer-term impact.  We set a target of 325,000 visitors and we are well on the way to meeting that. But The Gathering was never just about visitor numbers and revenues.  It is also about community pride and strengthening links with...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Travel Tax (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The zero rate travel tax initiative is part of a process aimed at generating new airline routes into Ireland and will come into effect from April 2014. There has been a positive response to the initiative from airlines so far with Ryanair and Aer Lingus Regional both announcing details of new routes and increased services from Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Knock. ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects Issues (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.  Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for the NRA in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act. ...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. The implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I refer the Deputy to Minister of State Kelly's reply to the Topical Issue on this matter on Tuesday, 22nd October.  Concerns on this subject have been raised with the Chief Executive of Irish Rail and I understand that Irish Rail have already responded and re-introduced larger carriages to accommodate passengers where this has been considered necessary.  The Chief...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Wild Atlantic Way Project (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 , 40 and 43 together. The Wild Atlantic Way is set to be Ireland's first long-distance touring route, stretching along the Atlantic coast from Donegal to West Cork.  It is planned to develop it into an attraction of international scale, on a par with the Garden Route in South Africa or the Great Ocean Road in Australia, that...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Obligation Services (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 51 together. The objective of Government is to ensure a system of public transport throughout the country that is as efficient and as widespread as possible.  In relation to the award of Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts for the bus market, this falls under the remit of the National Transport Authority (NTA).  The NTA is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Provision (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: It is difficult to carry out a comparison of subvention levels between transport authorities internationally for a number of reasons, some of which are: - The subvention payments for the bus mode are not normally separated out from the other modes such as light and heavy rail and are usually presented as the subvention for all the public transport in the particular region; - Some...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Roadworthiness Testing (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The arrangements for commercial vehicle testing in the State were comprehensively reviewed in 2007 and the Government decided that the model for delivery of testing by private operators would continue and that the authorisation and supervision of commercial vehicle testing would be centralised under the auspices of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to ensure consistency of testing across the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sports Facilities Provision (7 Nov 2013)

Leo Varadkar: A significant amount of work is taking place at the National Sports Campus which will see a number of facilities completed this year and more to come on stream in the short to medium term. Irish Sport HQ has been completed and now is the administrative headquarters of almost 20 NGBs. Work is almost complete on the development of multi-sport all-weather floodlit pitches.  It is...