Results 19,621-19,640 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Sector Staff (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: My Department announced funding in January 2021 for up to 248 new posts in local authorities to expand walking and cycling facilities all over the country. This increase in resourcing reflects the €1.8bn of funding committed for walking and cycling over the planned lifetime of the Government. The additional staff will be dedicated to delivering and promoting Active Travel in Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 54 together. As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Expenditure (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 53 together. As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, and for the allocation of associated funding to the relevant transport operators....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Expenditure (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The funding allocation for B5 Public Transport Investment for 2022 is €780.06m and is available to view on gov.ie - The Revised Estimates Volumes for the Public Service (www.gov.ie).  Capital funding in 2022 will be allocated to the following programmes: accessibility retrofit programme; bus programme; heavy rail investment; infrastructure manager multi-annual contract (heavy...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy may be aware, the issue of the DART+ Interconnector, also known as DART+ Tunnel and DART Underground, is being re-examined as part of the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) review of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). The Strategy is a multi-modal, twenty year transport strategy for the region and one that must be reflected in relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy is aware, in December Government issued approval in principle for the DART+ Programme. The DART+ Programme will double the rail capacity in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and will be the cornerstone of rail investment in the GDA for the coming years. Government approval permitted Iarnród Éireann to enter into a ten-year procurement framework for new DART fleet and...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 60 together. As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the procurement of the PSO bus fleet. Noting the NTA's responsibility in the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I am pleased to introduce the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021 for consideration by the House. It is a short, technical Bill that contains important provisions to amend the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000, which established the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB. The amendments to the 2000 Act have a...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (9 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Senators Buttimer and Dooley. They have engaged in the committee and in real detail here. We broadly agree on the immediate need for this legislation to ensure that our MCIB board is quorate and that we do not leave any gaps in the institutions of the State, that we accept the court judgment and act on it immediately. As I said in the committee, I have committed, subject to the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: This energy price crisis has been with us now for the guts of a year. The Government has taken a series of responses. In October last, through the budget we increased the fuel allowance, the qualified child allowance, the working family payment and the living allowance, targeted to those most at risk of fuel poverty. Three weeks ago, we went further with the €500 million package in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: That advice to slow down got a lot of criticism yesterday but it was in answer to a straight question about what sort of efficiency measures we could do. It is just a fact. The people in rural Ireland are most exposed. Consider the drive down from Donegal, for example, which is a long distance. If you are on a motorway, which would not be on the Donegal route but elsewhere, going from 120...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I fully agree with and support Deputy Gannon when he spoke about calling it out, and especially when yesterday we saw the maternity hospital being bombed. There are no words to express the shock and horror of the images we see on the front pages of a newspapers this morning. Our Government is, on behalf of the Irish people, standing up. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, has...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As I said, we are going to have to act with real speed. In some instances, that will require the likes of modular housing and applying different rules from what we would ordinarily apply in the planning system. My understanding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and from Cabinet discussions is that we are looking at those sorts of emergency measures to allow us to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy that we have a proud record in difficult situations and conflict situations. Rather than adding to the conflict, we try to create peace in such conflict situations. There are examples of us sending diplomats and the likes of our Army Ranger Wing, which went to Kabul Airport last year and helped to get Irish citizens home, in conjunction with other countries. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The situation in Mariupol is atrocious but the difficulty is that it is impossible for citizens to get out of the city. Despite supposed arrangements to provide safe access routes out, that has not happened so that is not possible. Our embassy officials in Bucharest were hugely influential in getting a certain number of babies out recently in difficult circumstances. I will go back to the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The switch to this renewable and local fuels future will have to be accelerated and I accept that. It is here and I just checked my phone to get the latest figures. As we speak we are using about 5,500 MW of power for lights, heating and our electricity systems. About 3,500 MW of that is coming from wind, particularly from the west, the north west and the south west, including in west...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Deputy Collins and I were neighbours for many years in LH 2000 and I am sure he had the same experience as me. Does the Deputy remember the first day he walked through the gates of Leinster House and getting a tingle in his spine? We all share something in our constitutional and democratic Republic that when one is elected as a Deputy for a constituency one represents all of the people in...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The energy crisis and food price rises, as mentioned, are at the centre of this. The Deputy is absolutely right that those on the lowest incomes are most at risk and the percentage of their incomes going on basic essentials, such as food and energy bills, puts them at particular risk. It is important that we look at our social welfare system in that regard. It is very uncertain. We...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Mar 2022)

Eamon Ryan: When it comes to us at home in regard to agriculture, we will also have to be careful because our system is exposed and at risk, particularly the poultry and pig sectors.