Results 2,041-2,060 of 2,964 for speaker:James O'Connor

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Finance
2020 Report on the Accounts of the Public Services of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2020
Chapter 16 - Ireland Apple Escrow Fund
Audited Financial Statements of the Exchequer for 2020 (5 May 2022)

James O'Connor: I appreciate that. My last question is to Mr. McCarthy. What he is saying is quite interesting.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Finance
2020 Report on the Accounts of the Public Services of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2020
Chapter 16 - Ireland Apple Escrow Fund
Audited Financial Statements of the Exchequer for 2020 (5 May 2022)

James O'Connor: I apologise.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Events (5 May 2022)

James O'Connor: 32. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on the development of a Major International Sports Events Policy for Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22109/22]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Public Works (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: 160. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Office of Public Works has any heritage ships or boats under the maintenance or ownership of the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21970/22]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: 190. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if any local authority in Ireland has any heritage ships or boats under the ownership of the State; and if a list of such vessels will be provided. [21971/22]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Agreements (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: 376. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if any work visas are currently available for Ukrainian migrants travelling to Ireland from other European Union countries. [21849/22]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: I thank the Chair. First, I welcome the witnesses who are before the committee. Although I am a Deputy from Cork East, I am also our party spokesperson on transport. The importance that Dublin and the region around Dublin has for our entire economy must be recognised. In the Dublin area, the huge dependency on cars sticks out to me as someone who commutes in and out of Dublin twice a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: How long will it take for the N7 park-and-ride? Mr. Creegan said it would be long term, but what are the timelines that are involved in the construction of that project in particular? Does he have any rough estimate available to the committee?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: It is okay, this is interesting. This is part and parcel of the lack of joined-up thinking between the Department of Transport and the independent State agencies working with it that is making it really hard for all of the bodies involved to get the work done. The simple exercise of connecting Dublin Airport via the DART such that we would have a rail connection to Dublin Airport could be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: I refer Mr. Creegan to Beijing, which is a good example of where a person can access a solely airport tram service from the gate of the airport which links up with a rail connection. That could be done here by way of the installation of a new platform at, for example, Donaghmede, where there is an existing rail line. It would be a floor platform in the sense that people would be able to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: I thank both contributors from the Dublin Commuter Coalition and Dublin Bus. It is interesting to get their perspectives on what they feel could be done. I certainly want to agree with some of the points that were made by the Dublin Commuter Coalition with regard to the longevity around the delivery of public transport projects, whether that is the Luas or other projects. The point is that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: That is great. I have noticed that the Dublin Commuter Coalition has run a strong social media operation and it is brilliant to see the engagement the coalition has on it. I follow it and am a big fan. I would love to meet representatives of the coalition privately after this meeting or at some stage if they have time available. There is a huge problem in Dublin if you want to get to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: That is interesting and the same could be said to Dublin Bus, the NTA and other State agencies that are involved in this work. The review will be a huge determining factor in the development of all new infrastructure so we can get away from the situations like the metro projects in Dublin. I mean the DART interconnector and other projects had many false starts that were never developed in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Region: Discussion (4 May 2022)

James O'Connor: That is fascinating to hear. I feel these facilities would make a huge difference to the lives of people who live in rural Ireland. While we have been here, a couple of people have tweeted to ask me why I do not use public transport to get to and from Dublin. The answer is that doing so adds an hour and a half to my journey. I have to go to a train station, park my car, get the train to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I welcome the officials to the committee meeting today and thank them for the information they have been providing. First, I have a brief question. In 2020, an issue under the remit of the Department of Justice that came to my attention is funding for the coroner's court. I understand there has been some difficulty with the discharge of bodies, particularly in areas where there is high...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: Excellent. The year 1846 is a small bit before my time.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I compliment the witnesses on the fact that they are taking this quite seriously and that work has been done. Obviously, they understand the fact that it is an emotive topic.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: In particular, when it happens in Dublin it impacts across the country, given the centralisation of the hospital facilities there. That is good to hear. I will move to a slightly more controversial matter. As part of our briefing and with regard to the State Claims Agency, there are approximately 2,400 claims outstanding in respect court cases being brought against the Irish Prison...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: It is good to at least have certainty in regard to where all of that is going but €15 million is a very large amount of money and I have to say this cannot be accepted.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons (28 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: Thank you. I want to make one final point. The pandemic obviously brought about an enormous change in the requirements of policing in Ireland and the work the Department had to do in order to adjust to facilitate that. One observation is that I felt there was a significant rise in the level of substance use by younger members of society in Ireland, which is extraordinarily concerning to...