Results 10,441-10,460 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships Cost (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I am not arguing with the Deputy's implication that this was a bad deal. In fairness to the previous Administration, most people at the time believed the economy would continue to grow and very few predicted the scale of collapse that occurred. I can review the contracts but when we did so before, they were solid and had EU approval with respect to State aid. It is very difficult to see a...

Other Questions: Driver Licences (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the criteria for applying for a replacement for a lost or stolen driving licence are set out on the RSA website. These requirements include a Garda report stating it was lost or stolen. There were problems with the speed of processing applications in the NDLS when the...

Other Questions: Driver Licences (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: What is required is on the website and it is a very understandable website. If there are particular cases the Deputy wishes to bring to my attention she should give the details to my office and I will take them up with the NDLS. The tender required that at least 95% of the population be within 50 km of a centre. It is important to bear in mind that unlike under the previous regime one can...

Other Questions: Driver Licences (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: A point to bear in mind is there are three contracts for the front office, the back office and card production. Some of the contracts are going better than others. The front office contract has been a particular problem. The RSA put in additional resources because people were experiencing problems and these needed to be fixed. I was not willing to wait three years for another contract to...

Other Questions: Haulage Industry Regulation (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 9, 56 and 257 together. I had the privilege of speaking at the Irish Road Hauliers Association annual conference in Kilkenny on Saturday, the third time I have done so since I was appointed Minister. I have consistently sought to work with the industry to ensure it is fit for purpose. My goal is to have a haulage industry that operates efficiently,...

Other Questions: Haulage Industry Regulation (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: That suggestion certainly violates the Single European Act so I cannot consider something that is unlawful. Cabotage is wrong. We are supposed to have a free market and the free movement of goods and services across the European Union. If it were up to me, I would get rid of cabotage rules altogether. The European Commission is also in favour of doing that provided we have similar safety...

Other Questions: Haulage Industry Regulation (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I met my UK counterpart, Mr. Hammond, and his officials. They heard me out but made no promises other than to examine the matter further. The Taoiseach's meeting with the Prime Minister was along similar lines. I made the point that we had put money into the A5 already and had committed money for the future. For every argument we have, the UK has a counter-argument and pointed out that...

Other Questions: Haulage Industry Regulation (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: There is a risk that some haulage firms will register some of their trucks in the North and it may be the case that some have done so already. Others will buy the annual pass. People do not have to pay €10 every day they use UK roads. There is an option of purchasing a heavily discounted annual pass. Some people will do that, depending on how often they cross the Border and go...

Other Questions: Haulage Industry Regulation (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy McHugh for his interest in the matter. I have had several meetings with him involving some hauliers from County Donegal. I welcome him taking the initiative to meet the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers, MP, about the matter. We will not give up on it and will continue to work on it. As he pointed out, the legislative instrument required...

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance Issues (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I agree with the Deputy that drainage is an issue of particular importance that local authorities need to give consideration to in their work programmes. Indeed, last year I made a specific allocation for proper drainage work in order to protect pavement surfaces to focus their attention on this area. However, it must be stated that the improvement and maintenance of regional and local...

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance Issues (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: It is worth pointing out that the €330 million represents the State road grants that come from the Department via the motor tax. Local authorities can add their own resources to that - some are very good and some are very bad. For every €1 that the Government gives Fingal County Council for local and regional roads, that council matches it with €2. Other counties are...

Other Questions: Community Involvement Scheme (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Dooley is very cynical.

Other Questions: Community Involvement Scheme (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 16, 17, 22, 32 and 57 together. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in this area is a statutory function of each road authority. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources, supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded...

Other Questions: Community Involvement Scheme (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly consider putting it on a permanent footing. It was always intended to be a two year pilot. We will be coming to the end of the two years shortly and we will put it on a permanent footing so long as things continue to work well this year. I do not have all the details of the scheme but contact will be made with the local authorities in the next few weeks with all the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Military Aircraft Landings (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: A permit under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973, as amended, is required for any civilian aircraft to transport munitions of war in Irish airspace. In total there were 670 applications by US airlines for such permits in 2013. Of these, 349 flights sought to land at Shannon Airport, while the rest were overflights using Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 39 and 43 together.   These questions relate to the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) and to threatened legal action by Aer Lingus against SIPTU in the context of the threatened strike action on March 14th last. I refer the Deputies to my answer to Priority Question No. 1 earlier today which addresses the issues raised.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Promotion (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: This year marked the fifth year of Tourism Ireland's Global Greening initiative, which sees iconic buildings and sites around the world "go green" to celebrate St Patrick's Day.  The initiative is part of Tourism Ireland's annual St Patrick's promotional programme which spans all of our significant overseas tourism markets. For minimal cost, the measure helps raise Ireland's...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Light Rail Projects Status (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility  for the implementation and development of infrastructure projects in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), including the Luas Cross City project. The project is progressing well and to agreed timelines.  While all construction projects may give rise to problems from time to time, I understand from the NTA that there...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: This question relates to the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS), a multi-employer scheme which involves the employees of Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) along with Shannon Airport Authority, Aer Lingus and the now defunct SRT Technics.  I refer the Deputy to my answer to Priority Question No. 1 earlier today which addresses the current difficulties...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sporting Events (2 Apr 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 27 together. Last November the Government considered a Memorandum on the discussions and analysis to date on a potential bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.  While the Memorandum identified a number of challenges, the great potential of the event is also clear and I believe that hosting the Rugby World Cup on a...