Results 10,241-10,260 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: No reductions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy will know, there has been an ongoing discussion between my Department and the Department of Social Protection on this matter. That continues but is nearing completion. A principle has been agreed that all commercial bus operators, including Expressway, should be treated the same regarding the methodology used for compensation for participating in the scheme. As I speak, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: The increases are quite satisfactory. They have gone up over recent years and will continue to do so. They should be focused most where they are most needed. I am conscious that some rural communities feel that they have been neglected or deprived in recent times. My opinion is not that important because that scheme is run by the Department of Social Protection and the NTA has an input as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: The most important thing from a transport point of view is to co-operate on housing and because the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is leading in this area, and look at where it intends to build new houses. From our position, wherever housing expands, we must look at those areas and expand in those areas. When housing density increases, it affects transport...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I will take the questions in order. I agree that it was a painful strike for some people and that difficult decisions were made. I pay tribute to all sides on reaching an agreement, including the trade unions, employers, the WRC and the Labour Court, where significant efforts and sacrifices were made. That should be acknowledged. It was very difficult for certain people to accept it and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I will give it, but because I want to answer the questions chronologically, I will first answer the Deputy's question on the unions. Of course I will meet the unions. I received letters from three of them last week. Those have been acknowledged and I will write to them in the next day or two to invite them to meet me. That will be an open agenda. I will discuss with them what we plan to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes. It would include the private commercial operators, trade unions and employers. We would be delighted to include members of this committee. I will not list everyone, but it would also include transport economists. We would be happy to have that. I will not delay it, but we want to set up something that is meaningful and will feed into the consultation process and review of transport...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I am not familiar with the problem, but I will examine it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I am sorry, but the terms of reference of what?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I will answer the first question about the players in the stakeholder area. There is no intention to exclude anybody who is an interested party. I would anticipate all of the employers in the semi-State transport area, including private operators, should be there, as well as the State, politicians, all the unions, the NTA and others who are interested parties in that area. I do not want to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: The transport portfolio is a big beast and has to include virtually everyone. There is no agenda, if that is what the Deputy means. It is something trade unions have specifically required and it is a specific response to them. That is why it is being done. I promised this during the industrial relations dispute and I am going to keep that commitment. There is no intention whatsoever to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: The issue there is very simple. We have agreed a principle. The payment of free travel is a matter for the Department of Social Protection. We agreed a principle that funding for all commercial operations would be the same. The effect of that is what the Deputy wants to know. It means that there will be an increase in funding for Expressway. It will now receive the same as any other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: It would be exactly the same.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: We are going to remedy that. That is the whole point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: We are going to bring it up to a certain level. Expressway will get more as a result.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I am not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I will respond to Deputy Muster because it is important. She is being somewhat unfair. She may be right about what she said about things having been wrong before. I will not concede the point, but I understand what she is saying. We are remedying the situation, which should be acknowledged. I have committed to increasing the PSO. That is an absolute commitment. The Deputy might...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: I will try to get through it as quickly as possible. For someone who said he was not going to address the subject of the dispute, Deputy Barry did pretty well. He spoke about it for four minutes. I will try to restrict myself. Along with Deputy Barry, I compliment those bus drivers and other members of staff in all stations and jobs who suffered during the strike. I compliment them on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Current Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (31 May 2017)

Shane Ross: Can I answer this question first? It is not discrimination apparently. I do not think it is discrimination. I think there is a different methodology, which I will probably furnish the committee with, for working out how much Bus Éireann is paid and how much the private operators are paid. I will keep that pledge on the dialogue with stakeholders. I will meet the stakeholders in a...

Topical Issue Debate: Road Tolls (1 Jun 2017)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy O'Dowd for raising this issue, which I know from experience is greatly important in the area, and has caused a great deal of dissatisfaction for many of his colleagues and himself. This is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. I am happy to reiterate the current position and to be as helpful as I possibly can regarding the M1 slip toll at Drogheda. As...