Results 2,121-2,140 of 9,052 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy. At the moment, leaders are engaging with TII on this. We are not happy about the timing, in particular given the cost-of-living crisis. Engagement with TII is under way to determine what can be done to ensure we are not increasing costs for commuters, people travelling to work or college or the hauliers who use our motorways. Everything is on the table to try to see...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is an independent decision by TII. As the Deputy knows, there are eight PPPs across the country, as well as the M50 and the tunnel. There are contractual issues. There is concern in government around the timing of this and the effect it will have on commuters, in particular, after a budget of €11 billion to try to help every sector from businesses to households with the rising...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Exactly.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I understand TII will come before the committee next week.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Discussions are ongoing between the three leaders and TII. Political discussions are happening.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am not part of those discussions. From the point of view of the Government, there will be discussions around what can happen and ensuring we are not incurring extra costs.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: There has been engagement between TII and the Department on this. Leaders are aware of some of the information around costs. It is hard to get figures. The implications need to be teased out.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I do not know about individual meetings that have taken place. There is information in the Department of Transport on this because there has been engagement between TII and the Department of Transport. There is a commitment from the Government to do something on this and see what can be done in order to minimise costs for commuters.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Can people introduce themselves?

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: My officials are here-----

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Officials are here representing the haulage, finance, public transport and aviation divisions.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: There is a request from Shannon Airport for the establishment of a PSO to provide connectivity between it and an EU hub. That is under consideration by the Department. Last week, I announced a mid-term review of the regional airports programme, as I want to give an opportunity for aviation stakeholders such as airports and this committee, which is interested in this space, to feed into an...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: We see the figures for Dublin Airport. They are going to grow exponentially. We all agree that we need Dublin Airport to succeed, but we all want to boost traffic through our regional airports and to examine ways of doing so. Through the mid-term review of the regional airports programme, I want feedback for the consultation process, which I hope to start in quarter 1 of next year through...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes. It is based on the regional airports programme and will consider what we can do to expand and improve it. It is about getting feedback from various stakeholders and thinking differently about how we use our airports.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Regarding the national aviation policy, the Department is reviewing how best to move forward. Coming out of Covid, we are in a new landscape in terms of passenger travel and how business people conduct their business. We have a new vista before us. We could not have reviewed the national aviation policy in the middle of a global pandemic, and the review was put on hold because...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is why I am doing the regional-----

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: May I finish, Chairman?

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I have done so, but I will repeat what I said. The window to feed into the issues paper lasts until 31 December. That paper will form part of the public consultation, which will start in quarter 1 of next year. The committee will want to hold hearings on the matter and, therefore, we could consider the timing. Once the consultation process is open, I envisage it lasting for six to eight...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Department is considering how best to proceed on the national aviation policy. A focus of this committee, and rightly so, has been on ensuring that we have traffic coming into the regions via our regional airports, that we get the best value out of them and that they survive. This is why I first want to focus on the review of the regional airports programme. The work on the national...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 31 - Transport (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I should have said that the Department and I will keep the committee up to speed on timings around the consultation process, the national aviation policy, etc., since I know that the committee wishes to hold hearings on these matters. We will provide updates so that there are no surprises around dates.