Results 1-20 of 1,107 for at speaker:Darren O'Rourke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Darren O'Rourke: I appreciate that but, in terms of the suite of measures that Dr. Holohan has at his disposal, I would have thought of such use of a PCR test. For example, why do we test at all? Is not partly to identify the virus? We are not doing that at our airports at the minute.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021: Committee Stage (22 Jun 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I support Deputy Leddin's point. I have a sense of the intent but, all things considered, I am concerned about the possible interpretation of the text, particularly in the context of current goings-on at An Bord Pleanála. I suggest that it requires a second reading at the very least. It is something we will look at before Report Stage and we may bring forward amendments but I ask the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (16 Sep 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: Go raibh maith agat. There was a resounding rejection of the proposal that was on the table by workers at Dublin Bus, and for a range of reasons, including the impact it would have on pay and conditions. Is the Minister aware of that and has he heeded it? There was a direct call on him by the workers to intervene and get involved. I ask him to set out his understanding of that process,...

Covid-19 (Transport): Statements (13 May 2020)

Darren O'Rourke: ...four minutes. If the Minister does not mind, I will ask some questions and request a response, and we might go back and forth. My first question concerns the Covid-19 checks and the controls at our ports and airports, particularly the latter. We know that our airports have never been quieter. Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were down by 57% in March, and possibly by as much as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy: Discussion (30 Apr 2024)

Darren O'Rourke: The Minister of State will find that the French example, and it is welcome that model is being looked at as regards packaging, also has a piece in respect of obligations around minimising food waste. It is to be hoped the Minister of State will turn that up and have a look at it when he is looking at that model.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Motor Insurance and Uninsured Drivers: Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (8 Mar 2023)

Darren O'Rourke: I am trying to think this through. In terms of what is happening at present - we might talk some more about Mr. Fitzgerald's analysis here - there are significant numbers of uninsured drivers but a level of detection that is not consistent with that. What is happening at the side of the road at present? Do people have fake papers or what is on their insurance disk?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: European Union (9 May 2024)

Darren O'Rourke: Regarding the Tánaiste's response, it is deflection to say let us look at this thing in the round and that we are not being fair and are not looking at the humanitarian contribution of the European Union. Ursula von der Leyen is not entirely responsible for the humanitarian contribution of the European Union. What she is responsible for is her own public utterances, which demonstrate...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Proposed Legislation (10 Nov 2020)

Darren O'Rourke: There is a range of issues that have been raised, as the Minister might appreciate, from the range of stakeholders whom I again thank. I refer to the strength of the language, for example, on the targets and the need for, if not interim targets, certainly checks and opportunities to correct the path if we are going astray. That is a significant ask and I would ask the Minister to address...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised) (22 Oct 2020)

Darren O'Rourke: Is there a sense at a departmental level of the real scale of this problem now or its likely scale in the future? In County Meath, for example, cases recently have completed at the High Court. The expectation is there will be a responsibility to undergo remediation. It strikes me that this is a significant problem. Much of it is legacy. I wonder whether there has been an assessment of...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Impact on Aviation (28 Jul 2020)

Darren O'Rourke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I want to come back to the revelation at the weekend that the Government is using people's travel history against them when it comes to social welfare and that the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, has been cut for some people who travel abroad based on assessments taking place in the airports. Is it the case that those assessments are taking...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (24 Mar 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: We received lots of documents at the transport committee and we have heard from the RSA. I read one document we had not previously seen in the media at the weekend, which outlined the concern in the RSA about the impact the backlog will have on road safety and insurance costs. Those are real issues that need to be addressed. The limited capacity that is in place currently is not even...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (3 Mar 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: .... The opportunity is available. If one maps our rail infrastructure and our forced car dependency, there has to be very significant development if we are to achieve a modal shift. Much of that will be to an improved public bus network, but rail has a very important role to play. I am speaking about Navan but also about the west and north west. Communities are chomping at the bit for...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised)
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Darren O'Rourke: I can vouch for that. I know very many people who use the Navan bus service. I accept that point but I will also make the point that Connecting Ireland is also doing other things that speak to the issue of car dependency in rural areas that town services will not. With regard to transformational change in transport, this dependency is a particular challenge. Connecting Ireland has a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Customs Checks Post Brexit: Discussion (22 Jan 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: I am sorry to interrupt. Could I ask Mr. Harrahill to address the changes to the systems that are in place at his end? Are there changes that can be made at his end? I appreciate there is an element around education and familiarity with the systems that are in place. What scope is there, if there is any, to improve or refine the systems that are in place at his end? Is there scope to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Disputes (23 Jan 2024)

Darren O'Rourke: 237. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is aware of the ongoing industrial action at the emergency call answering service in Navan; if he is aware that they have balloted for strike action; if he is aware that a company (details supplied) has refused to attend the hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission; if it is permissible that a company carrying out a...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2023)

Darren O'Rourke: I raise the case of Tara Mines and the 650-plus jobs under threat there. Are the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, at the table with Tara Mines? Have they met the company? SIPTU is in discussions with the management at Tara Mines. Specific requests have been made of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Sectoral Emissions Ceilings: Discussion (28 Jun 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: I have a follow-up question about those alternative pathways and those identified within the Climate Action Plan 2021. Are any of those at scale yet? The challenge for farmers is that they are operating in a system that operates for them and provides a return. An alternative is going to need to do the same and hopefully in a far lower carbon way, possibly by sequestering or by having a net...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rapid Antigen Testing for Aviation and Travel Sectors: Discussion (9 Jun 2021)

Darren O'Rourke: ...guests. Their contributions are very important, not least in terms of how they compared PCR and antigen testing and how they spoke about the way we use tests and how tests can be plugged into a strategy. Would antigen testing be used pre departure and post arrival? Would it be self-administered or carried out through a laboratory on site at, say, an airport? Will our guests comment on...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (7 Feb 2024)

Darren O'Rourke: No problem. I am trying to get a picture of this. My understanding is that Connecting Ireland is a €56 million programme over five years. It began in 2021 and we are now into 2024. I am trying to get a sense of where we are at the minute and where we intend to be at the end of the year. I recognise the challenges we have had in rolling out these services. I understand that in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Jun 2022)

Darren O'Rourke: On Monday, Oireachtas Members from County Meath heard that the HSE intends to move imminently into the final stages of implementation, as it calls it, at Navan hospital. By September, the HSE intends to close all intensive care unit beds in the hospital and to close the emergency department and replace it with a medical assessment unit. This clear intention was restated yesterday at a...