Results 14,721-14,740 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann (13 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the Financial Statements of Bus Éireann which are published annually. According to the company's most recently published financial statements, the company incurred a deficit of €23.7 million in that year, and the accumulated losses as at 31 December 2017 were €46.1 million.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services Data (13 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the Financial Statements of Iarnród Éireann which are published annually. According to the company's most recently published financial statements, the company incurred a deficit of €1.1 million in 2017, which was lower than the deficit of €2.9 million that was incurred in the previous year. The continued recovery of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Transport Authority Remit (13 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As previously explained to the Deputy in my reply to PQ Ref No 43816/18 on 23 October 2018, the licensing of public bus passenger services is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009. The NTA has completed a formal review of Part 2 of the 2009 Act which is under consideration by my Department. Following that...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test Regulations (13 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I am happy to be able to tell the Deputy that I have signed regulations into effect to deal with this matter. As the Deputy will be aware, people who take up residence in this jurisdiction and who have a driving licence which is not eligible for exchange for an Irish licence are required to go through the driver learning process in order to obtain an Irish driving licence. The reason for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The NTA has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area, including the electrification of lines under the DART Expansion Programme. Noting the NTA's responsibility for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the planning, operation and improvement of individual roads is a matter for the relevant road authority in relation to local and regional roads, or for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Bodies Communications (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The issue raised is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann. I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA and Bus Éireann for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive responses within...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Legislative Programme (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: A General Scheme of a Bill to amend the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 was approved at Cabinet last week and is now available online. This General Scheme is expected to be taken for pre legislation scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport shortly. My Department is engaging with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to advance the drafting of the Bill with a view...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Expenditure (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is aware that the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018 to 2027 provides an indicative allocation of €2 billion toward the DART Expansion Programme. The NDP specifically states that the initial sequencing of investment will focus on delivery of non-tunnel elements of the Programme. These elements include - - electrification of the Northern Line to Drogheda - electrification...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Initiatives (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public and sustainable transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area, including the Royal Canal cycleway and walkway. Noting the NTA's...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pension Provisions (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Issues in relation to Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) pension schemes are primarily a matter for the trustees of the pension schemes, the CIÉ Group and their employees. Therefore, I have referred the Deputy's question to CIÉ for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Committee for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I am joined on my left by the Minister of State with responsibility for tourism and sport, Deputy Griffin. I am also joined by officials of the Department: Ken Spratt, Peter Hogan, Noel Sheahan and James Lavelle. With the permission of the Chairman, I propose to share my speaking time with my colleague, the Minister of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I will ask the Minister of State to start and I will follow up on each question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: Senator O'Mahony addressed the issue of participation and said how important it was to the health of the nation. The current figure is that only 43% are participating fully now. We want to get that up to 50% and the questions are how we do it and which groups we target. The Senator is probably aware that only 23% or 24% of people with disabilities are participating properly in sport. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: May I respond to the Vice Chairman's questions first?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I will make a number of points so we can deal with it all together. With regard to the knee-jerk reaction to the hockey, we wanted to recognise what they had done. If we had not done anything to acknowledge their achievement, the Vice Chairman would have been the first person to ask where the Minister was and what he was doing when these poor, unfortunate hockey players were not given any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: All right. What we did was recognise a minority sport in a very concrete way. We will continue to do that where it is necessary. Sometimes we do not spot them coming all the way but they deserved support, not just with the presence of Ministers over there but also in terms of money and funding for the Olympics. It was not quite a knee-jerk reaction in terms of hockey. When we allotted...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I endorse what the Minister of State says. Rio was a catalyst for addressing many gaps in our corporate governance and it forced everyone to look at themselves and comply with the new rules which are coming into force on the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. Deputy Troy asked why it was taking so long. There is no real reason except that we wanted to get it absolutely right and to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: The Minister of State has covered all of that particularly well. I might move to Senator Feighan's questions. I am well aware and pay tribute to the fact that Senator Feighan has for a long time pursued objectives around all-Ireland sports and the Commonwealth Games. It is a worthy pursuit and one we should address in the context of the fact that Ireland is becoming more and more a global...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Sports Policy 2018-2027: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (14 Nov 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Vice Chairman.