Results 1-20 of 121 for speaker:Mark Duffy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I congratulate Ms Considine on her appointment and welcome her and Mr. Kenny to the session. I place on record my thanks to Jim Meade for his service down through the years. He was an excellent person to deal with in terms of improving and expanding rail connectivity right across the island, in particular in Mayo, where I am based. I welcome the discussion on the all-island rail review...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: Currently, though, there are no plans.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: Manulla Junction is a unique location in that it is not accessible by car for passengers but is a strategic location. In Mayo many users of the service now travel intercounty, that is, from Westport to Ballina or to Castlebar in each direction to Foxford. Something that has been raised with me very regularly - I do not think it has ever been highlighted in this forum - is shelter facilities...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: That is okay. To reiterate, going into the winter months there is a kind of time lag between different services connecting in, and it rains twice as much on the west coast as it does on the east coast. We do not need reminding of that. For passengers it would be very much welcomed as an improvement of the rail experience. The witnesses will be able to contact me directly on that, will they?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: That is great. I thank Ms Considine. Onboard catering has been discussed, and I welcome it being discussed at length. From a political point of view, we will not be satisfied until customers are satisfied, and they will be satisfied when they have adequate experience on their commutes. We had representatives of the NTA in here last summer and they said one of the constraints in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I am sorry to interrupt. Was that cost prohibitive by Iarnród Éireann's interpretation or was that discussed with the Minister?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: Did Iarnród Éireann ask the NTA for it and did the NTA say it did not see it as valuable or value for money?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I look forward to your work on that because it is important, even from a health and safety point of view. Some routes on the Mayo line take more than five hours. Most are under four hours, but some are close to five hours. Passengers might be diabetic, going to a hospital appointment, elderly and have to take medication regularly, or they may be expecting mothers. There are lots of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: It should not just be in the redevelopment and modernisation, which is great wherever that happens. That is good for those towns or cities. However, there are places where there is no requirement for development, but there is a requirement for a facility like that. These facilities offer incredible dignity to families and we should aspire to and work towards having them. Politically, if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I would appreciate if Irish Rail did. There are stations in Mayo, and I am parochial in that way, but a policy should be in place generally for the country. It should be on a capital works list. However long that list is and however long it takes to get through, we should aspire to installing them for society generally. It would be very welcome and, practically speaking, it would, as I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: That is great and will be welcome. Ms Considine mentioned works in Claremorris station in her opening statement. What do they entail?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: That is great. Going back to wheelchair users, they have to pre-book their journeys, but when they go to do so, in Mayo in particular - wheelchair users and advocates have made this point to me - they are told it is booked out. However, when they arrive at the station there are no wheelchair users using the service so they are able to use the train to commute to wherever they need to go....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Iarnród Éireann (22 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: Yes, that is fine. I offer my support for the all-island rail review, the double-tracking from Mayo to Dublin, but most important, the realisation of the first phase of the western rail corridor from Athenry to Claremorris. It is important we identify now what success on that service would look like in terms of numbers. Many numbers have been depressed in the projections for these...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (21 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I welcome to the House the ambassador of the Czech Republic and share in the warm wishes to Peter Finnegan as on his retirement as Clerk of the Dáil. I use this opportunity to highlight the positivity of sport for communities, young people in particular. On my travels here today, I met with the Ballina Town under-17 girls team who had returned to Ireland having competed in Barcelona,...

Seanad: Statement by the Taoiseach (16 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I welcome the Taoiseach to Seanad Éireann. Following Senator Flaherty’s contribution, I will focus on the shared island unit. The unit has a €2 billion fund, which is primarily focused on investment in infrastructure and education and bringing people closer and bringing them together. Before entering politics, I worked on a project in Northern Ireland, which was the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó – Order of Business (15 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I wish to raise an issue of serious concern to residents in County Mayo, in particular in the Lacken and Ballycastle area. It relates to a proposed wind farm development. In Mayo, we have seen a lot of investment in wind energy and turbines. It is something I support in a structured and considered way. The challenge we have at the moment, however, is that we do not have a clear wind...

Seanad: All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Statements (15 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I thank the Minister of State for joining us for such an important discussion on the all-island rail review. I acknowledge and compliment that 7,000 submissions made, the truly inclusive nature of the review and, in particular, the work of different advocacy groups, including West on Track. While I do that, I acknowledge the late John Bradley, who was dedicated in his advocacy as a former...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I welcome our guests from the NTA, Bus Éireann and the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland. I represent County Mayo, where we have had some very positive examples of TFI Local Link. In this regard, Mr. Creegan mentioned in the opening statement the Anseo service on Achill Island. There are additional services connecting Castlebar to Achill and also Belmullet, and these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: That would be great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Mark Duffy: I thank Mr. Parker and Mr. Kent. I also thank Mr. Creegan. I welcome that news. It is definitely a blackspot in terms of connectivity. It is regularly raised with me. It would change commuter habits if the airport were connected. I would welcome that.