Results 20,421-20,440 of 21,047 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Seanad: Transport (Córas Iompair Éireann and Subsidiary Companies Borrowings) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: It is not what I have. The grouping is ordered as follows: amendments Nos. 1, 3 and 4 are in the first group; and amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, are in the second group.

Seanad: Transport (Córas Iompair Éireann and Subsidiary Companies Borrowings) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Senators for those comments, and I appreciate the spirit in which they were made. I will get to amendments Nos. 1, 3 and 4 in a moment. We are in difficult circumstances. We have had a fairly thorough debate and I hope Senators appreciate the honesty with which I conduct debates every time I come here. I have probably been here on more occasions than most in discussing my...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: The answer is simple. There was another allocation to road safety in this budget. All the programmes have spent their budget. There was an over-allocation. They did not feel it warranted the use of that allocation this year and it was not used. Having said that, the Road Safety Authority, with which we work very closely, is looking at variations in terms of its future programmes and...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: There was a range of questions which I will address in no particular order because some of them overlap. The helicopter will be delivered in 2013. It is purely a payment going over the threshold of 2012 into 2013. The Doolin facility is down in the plan. We do not yet project it will be in 2013. That is something that will be looked at and I will get back to Deputy Dooley on it.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: At present, it is not in 2013. That is something I will come back to confirm. On the loss of revenue at the National Aquatic Centre, this relates to a couple of one-off events in the failure of a CHP plant and also a tragedy that resulted in substantial revenue losses that needed to be accounted for this year. Its operation thereafter is expected to be as normal.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I understand there was no recoupment of insurance. There was a planning issue with Cusheen station where it was rejected on a technicality. I understand the planning application was resubmitted in September, and that will come through.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: Works have commenced on Oranmore station and we expect that to be completed next year. There was also a question from Deputy Walsh on the 2013 plans for CIE. CIE, as I stated on numerous occasions, is in a perfect storm between loss of revenue, loss of passengers, loss of the fuel rebate, the price of fuel also increasing and the drop in the PSO. As we all will be aware, it is in an...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: No.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: That money is cut off now.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I will check with the officials. I presume they have been notified.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: As I understand it, yes. That changes with the accession of the new programme. The cut-off has happened. I will check and revert back to the Chairman as regards whether they have been notified. I would presume in normal practice they would have been notified that they had a time period within which to draw down the funding.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I could not agree more with Deputy O'Mahony. I will check on that and come back to him. If they have not drawn down the funding and if they were planning to draw down funding beyond a certain threshold and then find out that it is over and that has not been communicated, obviously, that would be an issue. I understand from my officials that the funding is no longer available and by its...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I will come back to the Deputy on it. If there is a particular case about which Deputy O'Mahony is concerned, he might come to me directly and I will ask about it.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: That is a fair question. The position in respect of Irish Rail is quite difficult. The improvements in motorways have greatly affected Irish Rail. It is not just in our area that the rail passenger numbers and revenue are dropping substantially; it is something that is obviously affecting various routes throughout the network. A number of programmes have been introduced to try to improve...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 31 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Supplementary) (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: Thank you, Chairman. The term suits you well. This year the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport requires a Supplementary Estimate of €4 million. In addition, a technical adjustment for €32.3 million is also required to reallocate savings between subheads within the Department's Vote 31. Current and capital expenditure savings of €32 million will be reallocated...

Other Questions: Integrated Ticketing (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: That is something we have looked into and we will be looking into it again in future. It would be a worthwhile development. Following the programme we have outlined to get the various services and products on the Leap card we have also investigated in a preliminary way the possibility of the Leap card being used for the bike scheme from a technological point of view and whether this is...

Other Questions: Integrated Ticketing (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I have no doubt about the sincerity of the Deputy's question but from a practical point of view this will not happen. There is a cost issue, obviously, as well as an equipment issue which would require a complete overhaul of the bus fleet. The bus fleet would have to change, and there is no country in the world which has such a system unless it has doubled its fleet or has a standard fare....

Other Questions: Integrated Ticketing (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: We could introduce such a system if we got down to a common fare across Dublin city and the greater Dublin area. That, however, is not going to happen in the short term. We would have to examine the fleet of buses to allow for tag-on and tag-off. The capital requirements would be so substantial that it would not be practical to introduce such a system. The current system is the best...

Other Questions: Integrated Ticketing (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: In my reply, I outlined how it would not be possible to extend the Leap card scheme within the existing capital requirements. Given the fact that in the next year we will have broken the back of introducing the Leap card across Dublin city and the greater Dublin area, it could then be deployed countrywide, a move that I would very much support. However, it is not going to be achieved at the...

Other Questions: Integrated Ticketing (27 Nov 2012)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 125 together. The questions relate to the Leap card public transport integrated ticketing system. Responsibility to develop, procure, implement, operate and maintain the integrated ticketing system in the greater Dublin area became the function of the National Transport Authority, NTA, with effect from 30 September 2010 in accordance with section 58...