Results 14,181-14,200 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Troy. I do not believe the Deputy would expect me to intervene specifically in relation to the Mullingar route. Indeed, he might be the first to criticise me if I did so. If the Deputy has a particular problem with that route, and it appears he has, the appropriate place to go is elsewhere, and he knows that. It would be wrong for me to step in and say that Deputy Troy has...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is aware that despite his prognosis and prophesies of doom passenger journeys on Irish Rail increased by 6% in 2017. The DART and commuter rail services, to which he referred, carried almost 33 million passengers in the Dublin region in 2017, which is also an increase of 6%. It is booming. In answer to the Deputy's question about procurement, the procurement process for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy asked me about when they are being ordered and the procurement-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I will answer the Deputy's other question about public transport priorities. There is an Estimates process going on, which the Deputy may not be aware of. I will be making my public transport requirements quite clear during that Estimates process. The question I was asked about at the weekend was in a completely different capacity and the Deputy knows this perfectly well.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Road Network (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Munster for this question, which is very important in her area. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant county or city council, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from the council's own resources, supplemented by State road grants. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Road Network (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I understand Deputy Munster's need for this road and she has in fact made a very good case for it. It does seem strange to me that no application was received by my Department from Louth County Council with regard to port access on the northern cross road. It is odd as it would have been logical for this to have been one of their priorities and it should have come to my desk at the earliest...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Road Network (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I do not think that this application will come to me so I am afraid that I cannot give this commitment. The urban regeneration and redevelopment fund is under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. This fund was launched as part of Project Ireland 2040 to support the regeneration of five cities and large towns and will operate on a competitive bid and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Road Network (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: It will not come to my desk. It will be going to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Road Network (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: -----so perhaps then, it should make that application to him. My Department understands that Louth County Council submitted an application under the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, and that the estimated cost of the project was of the order of €7 million with proposed funding of €5.4 million. We understand that the northern cross route was not among the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Licence Applications (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy will be aware, historically Ireland has not issued driving licences to asylum seekers. The court ruling earlier this year stating that asylum seekers may work while awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications has little or no direct relevance to driver licensing law. The two issues are legally quite distinct, and the Court ruling does not change the position. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Licence Applications (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I do not want to give the Deputy a very firm date because this is quite a complicated legal issue. Identity verification is difficult. I am as enthusiastic as he is to resolve this problem and see that there will be no overriding obstacle to asylum seekers getting driving licences. The key difficulty in issuing driving licences to asylum seekers, however, is identity verification. Ireland...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Licence Applications (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I am very eager to expedite this. I have responded to the Department of Justice and Equality on this issue. It recognises that it is an issue. I acknowledge that other countries do not necessarily have the same problems and have already granted this particular avenue. I will ask my officials to engage urgently with the Department of Justice and Equality on this matter with a view to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Policy (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Harty for his question. Shannon Airport is subject to very limited regulation by the Commission for Aviation Regulation, which sets charges for access to certain terminal facilities in compliance with an EU directive on ground-handling services. Unlike Dublin Airport, it is not subject to economic regulation. In the case of Dublin Airport, the regulator sets the maximum...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Policy (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is right when he says that this aid is restricted to safety and security. My understanding - the Deputy can correct me if I am wrong - is that the real problem at Shannon Airport is that concerns have been identified about capital expenditure which is required for the mandatory upgrading of equipment to comply with the revised hold baggage screening standards. This expenditure,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Policy (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: The problem here is that Shannon Airport is a different creature from Dublin Airport, which has a monopoly. The latter must have a regulator for that reason. The Commission for Aviation Regulation regulates all elements of the activities at Dublin Airport very strictly. The regulation in Shannon Airport is much restricted, as I said in my opening remarks, to terminals and other groups....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the very topical and important question. Over recent years, data published from various sources show an increase in the number of people commuting by bicycle. Recent data published by Dublin City Council and the National Transport Authority, NTA, in the annual canal cordon report show an upward trend of cyclists crossing the canal which continued between 2016 and 2017,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I accept what the Deputy says. It is indisputably true that the safer the roads are for cyclists, the more cyclists there will be. Perhaps because I did not finish my first reply, I did not spell out some of the other intentions we have for cycling and the commitments we have made. The €110 million is a trebling of the amount to be spent on walking and cycling. The Deputy is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I will respond to that in as far as I can. I cannot and will not give the Deputy a percentage commitment for the allocation to cycling but I will give her the figure of €110 million, which is a trebling of what we had before. It is a very large and significant step change in a commitment to cycling which was not there in recent years. I fully concede that this is necessary. We must...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: There is a current narrative to the effect that cycling has not been safe. That has some justification. It has certainly got some support, and it has got a little bit of movement and traction. I want to reassure people by providing these segregated cycling lanes, particularly in the cities to which the Deputy refers, and by introducing other measures. Safety is the most important element...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Services Provision (19 Sep 2018)

Shane Ross: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 53 together. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding relating to public transport. I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The operation of Iarnród Éireann services, including the new DART timetables, is a matter for the company with oversight by the...