Results 14,521-14,540 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Budgets (25 Oct 2018)

Shane Ross: Deputy the Capital allocation for Sports and Recreation services of €61,522,000 is broken down among the following subheads under Programme D : Grants for Sporting Bodies (Nat Lott) , Sport Ireland, Dormant Accounts funding - Sports Measures , Provision & Renovation of Swimming pools Full details on the allocations for each of my Department's subheads for 2019...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I welcome the Deputy's question and the opportunity it provides to reiterate my full support, and that of the Government, for the provision of additional runway capacity at Dublin Airport. The airport experienced its seventh consecutive year of growth last year, welcoming close to 30 million passengers, and the importance of ensuring that we have adequate airport capacity at our biggest...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: These are not competing projects. They can run in parallel and they have a very different timeline. The aim is that the runway would be completed by 2021 but we have to think more long term given the capacity problems that afflict Dublin Airport in particular. As Deputy Troy is aware, at the moment Dublin Airport has approximately 30 million passengers going through it annually. What is...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is mistaken. The €900 million which the DAA intends to spend is aimed at dealing with a maximum potential of 40 million passengers. However, we must plan for beyond that point. The DAA is making some good, serious and constructive suggestions. I made an effort to meet the DAA to discuss matters, and I will meet the authority in the very near future to see what its plans are.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The DAA could not meet me.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Let me make it absolutely clear: I will meet anyone who has a vested interest, including the DAA, private interests, Aer Lingus, Ryanair and anybody else who has an interest in the development of Dublin Airport, if they have a constructive interest in doing that. The future of Dublin Airport is very exciting but it is very demanding, and we have to consider every possible option. That is...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Development Projects (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: -----nor am I intent on making up my mind in the next two weeks, ahead of the findings from the consultations with the stakeholders. The Deputy will understand that when that has been done, I will be very happy to make an early decision because airport infrastructure demands long-term but early decisions.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Munster for her question. The current direct award public service obligation contracts with Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann expire at the end of November 2019. It is a statutory function of the National Transport Authority, under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and Regulation (EC) No. 1370/2007, to award PSO contracts and to determine the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I thought I had nailed the lie that this was privatisation. I thought Deputy Munster would know that this opening of the bus market is not privatisation. If she can explain to me what is being sold, I will listen to her. Nothing is being sold. None of the assets is being sold, as Deputy Munster knows full well. The privatisation scare will continue to come into this House as long as the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Maybe Deputy Munster would like to do it. If she does not know the difference between privatisation and competitive tendering, she would not be able to sit in this seat for too long.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: There is a major difference. The Deputy says the most profitable routes are going out to competitive tender. She did not use that term but that is what is happening. The next Bus Éireann routes the NTA is proposing to put out to competitive tender are those which are low-performing. It proposes to tender these routes, which serve the Dublin commuter area and the eastern region, in...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: It is not about profit. It is about social need on routes that are not profitable and keeping them going for the good of the community. That is what the NTA is doing and that is the reason the PSO subvention increased by 36% in the three year period from 2016 to 2018. Deputy Munster complains that we are somehow running down these routes and the companies in question when the opposite is...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The cost of insurance working group is chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy D'Arcy. My Department has responsibility for 12 of the 71 actions arising from the cost of insurance working group report published in January 2017. Quarterly update reports are issued by the Department of Finance and are available on its website. The current status of my...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I believe I addressed most of that in the answer to the Deputy's question when I referred to 12 out of the 71 recommendations. The cost of insurance working group took into account all the other issues the Deputy mentioned. We have succeeded in completing six of the recommendations and we will complete the other six in time. The important job we do, and that we have done reasonably...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Before Deputy Troy bursts another blood vessel in his phony outrage, I will try to do as he asked. He is quite right. Some of these recommendations have not been implemented. Six out of 12 have been implemented. On one the Deputy mentioned, ongoing meetings of the database project board are being held to oversee the project's implementation, and others are progressing. They have not all...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: There is a problem with insurance companies. Insurance companies have had problems with their profits for a long time. The reality probably is that they are charging far too much because they are trying to catch up with profits they lost a long time ago. That is unforgivable.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Allow me to say something about the courts. The payouts for whiplash in this country, with which the Government has nothing to do, are multiples of what they are overseas. It is more than 12 times the typical amount it costs the claimant in terms of medical expenses. To put that in perspective, according to a report today in the Daily Mail, compensation awards for whiplash in Ireland are...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Insurance Costs (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: -----are giving outrageous awards.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services Provision (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy is aware, the National Transport Authority has responsibility for ensuring the development and delivery of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, including, in consultation with Iarnród Éireann, the provision of rail fleet. Public transport passenger numbers have increased in recent years, reflecting broader economic and employment growth. Rail...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Services Provision (6 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for acknowledging that. It certainly has been difficult to play catch-up, especially after the difficult period we had. As he is from the north side, the Deputy might be interested to learn that the main issue that arose concerned capacity around the north side of Dublin. The National Transport Authority, NTA, and Iarnród Éireann responded swiftly to customers'...