Results 14,441-14,460 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I absolutely agree with Deputy Quinlivan that the people with whom I and my party have engaged in Moyross have shown real leadership and commitment and it is absolutely right to focus on the delivery of services for their community. They played a huge part in delivering this. There will be no delay in building the road. I hope that what the Deputy and I can agree on is that this in itself...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: My advice to constituents with questions as to whether they should travel home now is not to travel. If the question is when might be best, the answer is not now if there is a choice. ISIF funding is a matter for the Department of Finance. It is financially independent borrowing based on a contract arrangement with the company. The Government set up the fund to make sure we protected jobs...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I realise I did not answer Deputy Duncan Smith's other question about the report. In that newspaper report, Dr. Ronan Glynn said that, as he understands it, the HSE is the designated authority. I apologise that I did not answer the question. With regard to Carlow town, I absolutely support, and fully understand the Deputy's desire for, such a service. As we have seen in Kilkenny, a...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I am happy to follow up on all four of those proposals, with which I am in broad agreement. First, in regard to changes to Bus Éireann services, we agreed on previous occasions, for example, when it took away a Cork route, that we would try to make sure that no town that lost a service would be left out, and that we would reconfigure the public service obligation to make sure we...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will have to do that, particularly in regard to the Ballybrophy line, in respect of which, as the Deputy said, I had a very good meeting with the local group.

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Richmond is looking very well after a year of sleepless nights and so on. I commend him on that. There have been exceptions and we have to police it, but the public transport system here has, by and large, lived within the parameters set out in public health advice which is stricter than in other countries. There are very few other countries which apply the signage on the seats in...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I think every Department has a role in this matter. Regarding international travel and quarantine, the Department of Justice has a key role in terms of Garda checkpoints at Dublin Airport and how we manage border control. Our Department has a key role. We have just rolled out a whole new antigen testing scheme for hauliers travelling to and from France. On the passenger locator form, we...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: If there is any instance where the ECDC or our own public health authorities are saying that we should take a measure, we will take that measure. That is critical in terms of managing this variant issue, which does change everything. I heard Mike Ryan of the WHO say that the key thing is co-operation internationally and not necessarily banning in every instance but monitoring, managing and...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I am sorry I have not got to the other points. I have some details on Kildare County Council as an example. I had a good meeting with its members today. I believe the council could be an exemplar. We have agreed 11 additional engineering staff to help it roll out the walk ways. I will be honest. If certain councils cannot do it, do not want to avail of that and are not up for it, I...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: We have had sometimes lengthy and passionate discussions on this issue so I thank the Deputy for his welcoming of the announcement and his kind words this morning. I am just checking this. There has been a very useful engagement with the council on this issue. I am hearing that as well as the road, we should put in a bus lane in either direction, that we should address the pedestrian...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Today.

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: The Minister of State and I had a very good series of interviews with prospective candidates. We expect to be able to go to the Government on Tuesday next and get approval from it for our preferred chair. I think it will be someone who will be able to help Shannon Airport and the whole Shannon Group to manage its way out of a very difficult situation in which it finds itself. That is...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I have had very good meetings with council members about the north ring road in Cork. There is a variety of plans and I am trying to remember the full details. I recall the argument being made for immediate construction of a new distributor road for public transport and good active travel measures. I am trying to recall the geography of this across north Cork. I spoke with the council...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: We work as fast as we can in the circumstances we are in. I will provide some examples. When the UK Government raised a concern about a new variant, the next day, we banned travel from the UK. I believe we were the third country to do this. Perhaps the Danes and the Belgians were an hour ahead of us in doing so. Our response was immediate. At the same time, I believe we were one of the...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will respond to Deputy Bríd Smith first. The advice that we must follow is the public health advice. As I said, we expect further details later on this afternoon in respect of public health advice on the countries to which travel restrictions should be applied and the type of restrictions that should be put in place. We will follow that advice. We must consider the issues around...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: There are three potential routes for metro south from Ranelagh. One would be to go up the existing line. I do not expect we will opt for that route but we should look at it. The recommendation to the NTA is that we should look at all three options. The second option is going south west, as the Deputy outlined, taking in Harold's Cross, Terenure, Knocklyon, Firhouse and beyond to Tallaght....

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy Leddin for his remarks. He is absolutely correct. Well-being comes from how we look after our local environment. Transport is critical to that. It will encourage him in the work he has been doing on transport policy in Limerick to know that what I heard today amounted to broad agreement that as we build the Coonagh-Knocklisheen road, we should put in bus lanes. As we build...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I am very much supportive of the rail line. I appreciate the interest of Deputies Guirke and O'Rourke therein. The key point Deputy Guirke made that makes the case for the rail line is that the local authority is keen, in its development plan review, to really make it work and help deliver it. The key thing we need to do in transport now is what is called "transport-led development",...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Bruton is correct; we need connectivity. It is critical to our economy. In response to his question, we will have to look to retain diversity in regard to the destinations and connectivity we have because that has been a significant benefit. We also have to look at diversity in terms of regional development. We have to maintain more balanced regional development and that will be a...

Covid-19 (Transport and Travel): Statements (10 Feb 2021)

Eamon Ryan: I will address Deputy Connolly's questions. I hope we can advance that feasibility study on a light rail system in Galway. Similar to what we are looking at in Cork, we need to connect it to what we must immediately do in the likes of rolling out BusConnects for Galway and then look to see if that can be upgraded. That is my sense of an approach we might take in both Cork and Galway....