Results 201-220 of 4,645 for speaker:Seán Canney

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service, including the recruitment and training of driver testers. While my Department is responsible for the overall staffing sanction, it is not involved in the delivery of driver testing at an operational level and, as such, the requested information is...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: The Department is committed, under the Government's Road Safety Strategy, to addressing the matter of learner drivers with multiple successive learner permits. It is intended to restrict eligibility to third or fourth permits, by requiring the learner to take a practical test before they can renew their permit, and that a learner can have no more than four successive permits before they must...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Vehicle and Driver File (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: The General Scheme of the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025 has been approved by Government for drafting and has been sent to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. Among its main provisions, the Bill:Improves the existing legislative basis underpinning the Department of Transport's National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) database. which predates GDPR, and the data held...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Insurance Industry (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 438, 439 and 444 together. The relevant sections of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 allowing access by insurers and intermediaries to disqualification and endorsement data from my Department's National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) database at policy processing or renewal time have been commenced. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that these...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 440 and 445 together. Driving disqualification court order information is sent electronically from the Courts Service to my Department. This information is then endorsed on driver records on the Department's National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF). My Department received 2,877 individual court disqualification orders via weekly files between 01 January and...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Vehicle and Driver File (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 was signed into law by the President on 23 June 2023. It is a wide-ranging Act and is being commenced in stages. A commencement order for section 14(c) of the 2023 Act came into effect on 1 October 2024 under S.I. 497/2024 and amends section 5(1) of the Road Traffic Act 2014. Section 5 of the 2014 Act provides for vehicle insurers to be able to view...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 442 and 443 together. Section 56A(1) of the Road Traffic Act obliges insurers and brokers to collect a driver number when issuing or renewing a policy of motor insurance. This came into effect on 31 March 2025. It is therefore an offence for any insurance provider or broker to issue a motor insurance policy from 31 March, where the driver number has not...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Test (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service and the information requested for Donegal is held by the Authority. I have therefore referred the Deputy's question to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (13 May 2025)

Seán Canney: 594. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on an application for additional special needs assistants at a school (details supplied) as the school authorities need to make arrangements to put new SNAs in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23981/25]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Driver Test (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: To respond to Deputy Crowe, as I said earlier, nothing is off the table. In the past, we have used private instructors to do testing, so nothing is off the table as far as I am concerned. Turning to Deputy Burke, what he said is exactly the point. I want to see what is going to happen on a weekly basis, how the numbers are going to be reduced and how the additional testers will be put in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Driver Test (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 52 and 272 together. I thank Deputy O'Shea for his question. As he knows, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, has statutory responsibility for the national driving test service. I have been advised by the RSA that, following a recruitment process, the number of testers in Cork has increased from nine to 16 and it...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Driver Test (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I thank both Deputies for their contributions. I think every TD has received correspondence from young people or parents in the same position. I an email last week from a parent about their son, whose test has been postponed eight times since he applied for it. The dates have been shifted out. That is not acceptable to anybody. My meeting with the RSA leadership last week focused on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I thank Deputy Dolan for the question and I share some of his frustration as well, no more than the earlier comments from Deputy O'Hara. I know the Deputy is intensely interested in this issue. As we said earlier, there is no doubt there has been very strong passenger growth in recent years. It does pose challenges at certain times on the public transport network, including on the Athenry...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I share the Deputy's frustration about the length of time it takes to get projects delivered. This Government has been in place for three months. Our mantra is that we are a Government of implementation rather than a Government of strategising and that is the important thing. We will continue to work on that. The passing loop will be very effective. It will be very important and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I am aware of the issues the Deputy has raised on the bus connections from Athenry to Galway. I believe a private operator was doing it but it was pulled. Basically I do not disagree with anything the Deputy is saying. It is important first of all that we look at the immediate steps we can take to start improving things, such as the provision of additional carriages and the installation of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: Again, I thank the Deputies. I would say, first of all, when we talk about the national development plan, there will be huge competing asks within that plan. Of course, the three Ministers here will be putting forward our best foot in terms of projects within transport, be it roads, public transport or whatever. It is important the Deputies understand that we will be putting in plenty of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: The National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation, PSO, contracts. Obviously this statutory responsibility supports the implementation of agreed Government priorities. I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to delivering an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I thank both Deputies. I, too, acknowledge the work done by the former Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, in developing and bringing forward more public transport initiatives and services and making them more affordable. I want to acknowledge this in the House. Coming back to the question on quarter 3, I do not have the exact date but I will meet officials and I will come back to Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: The Deputy is no doubt aware of the considerable amount of research, both domestically and internationally, on what drives increased passenger numbers on public transport. I am happy to report there has been strong growth in passenger numbers in recent years, with numbers trending at plus 9% in 2024 versus 2023. In October 2024, public transport surpassed 1 million PSO passengers a day for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (8 May 2025)

Seán Canney: I will come back in with a supplementary reply.