Results 20,301-20,320 of 21,042 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Section 6 is required to define a licensing authority for the purpose of the Bill. The section reflects the current situation, whereby the Garda has responsibility for small public service vehicle, SPSV, driver licensing. This section also allows for a future scenario whereby it is envisaged that the administration of the SPSV driver licensing functions will be transferred to the NTA in...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: I thought I had dealt with it. I said clearly that it is not a quantitative restriction and that is why there is provision for wheelchair accessible vehicles, WAVs. The National Transport Authority has facilitated and looked at different grant forms to provide more vehicles into the marketplace. We must get more vehicles like these into the marketplace and it should be the number one...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Amendment No. 5 refers to regulations concerning the issue of licences for wheelchair accessible vehicles, WAVs, only. The restriction of the grant of new licences to WAVs seeks to ensure that the proportion of such vehicles in the overall fleet is increased. I am sure we all want that. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is now considering further measures to promote the use of such...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: I shall discuss amendments Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, together. They are minor technical amendments to section 3 and I wish to delete the term "order". Matters in the Bill to be prescribed by the National Transport Authority will be by means of regulation.

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: It is a provision to make things by order.

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: It is a technical amendment. It is purely a drafting matter.

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Not really, except to say the section is trying to ensure consistency in approach, in that dispatch operator services are licensed and appropriate licensing arrangements are included in the legislation. This is what we are trying to achieve. I accept the spirit in which the Senator tabled the amendment, but we need to ensure consistency in approach, which is why I will not accept the...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Senator for withdrawing the amendment. I believe dispatch operators need to be regulated. If the NTA is not aware of who will operate these services one cannot manage quality or ensure certain sensitive information is channelled in the right direction. Later we will deal with the issue of wheelchair accessible vehicles. We need certain standards. I do not accept the NTA is...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Senators. I cannot accept the amendment. For starters, I do not accept that the NTA is over-regulating this. We are ensuring there is the appropriate licensing of dispatch operators who have an intermediary function which needs to be regulated in some form. I accept wholly what the Senators stated on the disintermediation of such dispatch operators. The different applications,...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Amendment No. 1 to section 2 provides for a more precise definition of "dispatch operator" who is involved in booking and dispatching taxis. This definition distinguishes services provided by a "dispatch operator" from other similar services, such as marshalling taxis in a public place, for which a licence under NTA regulations is not required. Government amendment No. 36 to section 19...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Local Authority Charges (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: The setting of parking charges on public roads and in local authority owned car parks is a matter for the relevant local authority and I have no function in this or the setting of parking charges in privately owned car parks. Smarter Travel, A Sustainable Transport Future includes as a recommended action, the consideration of parking charges in shopping centres under the Planning Guidelines....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Cycle Network (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Planning for the proposed Dublin-Galway cycle route is currently being carried out by the National Roads Authority (NRA) and National Transport Authority (NTA). The NTA is responsible for the provision of cycling infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area and is therefore proceeding with the planning of the Dublin City Centre to Maynooth section of the proposed...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Smarter Transport (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: My Department works with the NTA to improve smarter travel, with the NTA funding local authority schemes in the Greater Dublin Area and regional cities, while my Department provides direct funding in the other counties and towns. In addition to NTA funding, we are investing €65 million in sustainable transport over the 5 year period...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Infrastructure (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Following the establishment of the National Transport Authority (NTA) in December 2009, funding for delivery of public transport infrastructure, including funding for projects to improve road, bus, cycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) is a matter for the NTA. Under its Sustainable Transport Management Grants (STMG) the NTA also provides funding to local...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: The regulation of the taxi industry, including issues pertaining to vehicle age limit, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the Taxi Regulation Act, 2003. The NTA is the lead agency with responsibility for implementation of the recommendations of the Taxi Regulation Review Report 2011. The NTA carried out a consultation on vehicle standards as part of the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: From the end of January 2013 it is a requirement that all small public service vehicle (SPSV) operators notify the National Transport Authority (NTA) about the vehicles they are operating at any time. This is a once-off notification in the case of SPSV drivers who own their own vehicle.  Any changes such as with respect to rental agreements or change of vehicle will need...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Smarter Transport (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: My Department works with the NTA to improve smarter travel, with the NTA providing funds to local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area and regional cities, while my Department provides direct funding in the other counties and towns. In addition to NTA funding, we are investing €65 million in sustainable transport over the 5 year period 2012-2016,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: I am not aware of a vehicle age rule that applies to the category of vehicle described by the Deputy. The Road Transport Operators Licence (RTOL) administered by my Department is for commercial operators who carry passengers for hire and reward, using large public service vehicles which can carry nine or more passengers.  There is no age limit as to the vehicles authorised on...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: Currently, small public service vehicle (SPSV) licences (wheelchair accessible taxi and hackney licences, hackney licences and limousine licences) which were issued after January 2009 are non-transferable. Licences issued prior to January 2009 can be transferred once. If a holder of an SPSV vehicle licence wishes to rent the vehicle licence to another SPSV operator, then...

Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Feb 2013)

Alan Kelly: It will never be forgotten.