Results 13,561-13,580 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licensing Exchange Agreements (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: Any EU driving licence, including a French licence, is directly exchangeable for an Irish equivalent, without the need to take a test. Under EU law, Member States issue driving licences to those normally resident in their jurisdiction, and all EU driving licences are interchangeable.  When a person who holds a driving licence issued by one Member State takes up residence in...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Traffic Accidents Data (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: This is a matter for the Road Safety Authority. I have referred the question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response is not received within 10 days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Traffic Accidents Data (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: This is a matter for the Road Safety Authority. I have referred the question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response is not received within 10 days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Traffic Accidents Data (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: This is a matter for the Road Safety Authority. I have referred the question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response is not received within 10 days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Policy (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: I would like to advise the Deputy that my Department uses various data sources to monitor the prevalence of cycling and the resulting trends. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) provides statistical information on cycling, including the National Travel Survey which illustrates the prevalence of cycling and the trends in cycling numbers. My Department also monitors cycling numbers and...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Facilities Data (31 May 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy may be aware, investment in cycling infrastructure over the period in question was delivered under a number of different programmes and schemes, namely the Smarter Travel Programme, Sustainable Transport Measures Grants (STMG) Programme and the Regional Cities Programme. Projects funded under the Smarter Travel Programme, funded directly by the Department, involved integrated...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the question. Following a period of reduced transport usage and suppressed transport growth during the recession, Ireland's transport activity and demand has been increasing again and is expected to expand further in future years in line with forecast economic growth rates.  The National Transport Authority's, NTA, recent bus and rail statistics bulletin...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I will have to provide the Deputy with the exact figures but they will not be difficult to provide. I will be able to provide him with some of them immediately. Against the backdrop of growth in demand for bus services, 140 new buses are being purchased in 2018 for the Dublin Bus fleet to replace older buses and to cater for market growth and new routes, with a further expansion of the...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: There will also be increases in respect of the Luas.

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: What the Deputy always does so well in this situation is point to the problems and not towards the facts that we are addressing them and that there are solutions on the way. If the buses were empty, he would be saying I was running a white elephant and that there were too many people in their cars. The increasing demand for buses is a reflection not only of the demand for buses but of the...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the chance to clear this up. There is a certain misconception about this problem, which was misunderstood by people writing about it. Of course, their message was then conveyed to the Deputy and others who do not actually know what is happening in this case. It is the policy of the Government since 2013 that the PSC should be integrated into service provision...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is using rather dramatic language. During the integration of the PSC into the driver licence application process, an erroneous policy of making the card the only acceptable form of identification was pursued by the RSA. At no point did the Department then direct the RSA to adopt a mandatory approach. In light of concerns, the RSA's planned approach was in line with neither...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: If there was any confusion, I hope I have been able to clear it up. The Deputy referred to the theory test. She is absolutely right that a PSC is being called for but, in the interest of consistency between the theory test and practical test, alternatives to the PSC will be catered for. To suggest that the €2 million allocated, not all of which has even been spent at this stage,...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I made it clear. To clarify matters, I instructed that it was optional.

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: In regard to funding, I have no doubt the Deputy will welcome the increases I have secured over the 2018 to 2021 period. More than €110 million allocated will be allocated to develop cycling and walking infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In addition, I have also secured funding of €135 million over the same period for...

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I accept fully what the Deputy said about cycling. I do not question his commitment to cycling and if he says I was slow about implementing the statutory instrument, I will accept that criticism in some ways. I am a convert to cycling. I took some time to be converted to the urgency not only for the imperative of the modal shift, which must be more dramatic, but also for all the bells and...

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: It is appropriate that the Deputy welcomed the fact that I am committed to cycling and it is something on which we can move forward and co-operate. The issue of BusConnects and cycling is important. I would not like the message to be lost, and I would hate it to be lost on the Deputy, that BusConnects is a massive vehicle for improving the lot of cyclists in this and other cities. There will...

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: There is no point in muttering when it will happen. It is a serious commitment and it will benefit future generations. It is a permanent commitment to cycling and walking. That is what is so important about it. The bus situation is one element of it, but perhaps a more important one is the message that one cannot build bus lanes of this nature without also accommodating the cyclists....

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: Resourcing for An Garda Síochána falls within the area of responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, and resourcing of the roads policing unit within An Garda Síochána is a matter for the acting Garda Commissioner. The issue of resourcing the roads policing unit, along with targeted visible enforcement of road traffic law by An Garda...

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is right in the sense that the traffic corps has been depleted and has been too low. As a result, it has not been up to the efficiency we sought in apprehending people for committing the offences to which I referred, such as speeding, drink-driving, using mobile telephones and driving without safety belts. The Deputy is also correct that the number fell back to a level which...