Results 2,321-2,340 of 2,964 for speaker:James O'Connor

National Broadband Plan: Statements (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: I have just come from the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, where we were discussing the contribution NBI is making. Subsequent to some further information that was brought to our attention today, there are some issues I want to highlight. The Government put a strong focus on rolling out broadband services to areas of the country that had a severe lack of any type of...

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: I thank the Chairman. I welcome the NTA to the committee. I have a couple of questions on the budget the authority has at the moment. I begin with a question around Bus Éireann services, the price of which the NTA obviously has a role in controlling. The fact is we have a private bus system operating under the umbrella of Bus Éireann through Bus Éireann Expressway. How...

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: As the CEO of the NTA, is the irony not lost on Ms Graham that the NTA is putting a very significant amount of public money into trying to improve public transport services, and even though the NTA is subventing these services, they are still double the price of what Bus Éireann is able to provide through Expressway?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: How is Bus Éireann making a profit?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Who owns the Expressway service?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Does the NTA not provide the price setting capacity on behalf of the State?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: How is that allowed to happen?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: As CEO, what does Ms Graham think of that structure?

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Ms Graham will not express an opinion on it.

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Does Ms Graham think that policy is improving public transport services across Ireland? There is an Expressway service owned by the State and funded by the State, which the NTA is not subventing, and that is fair enough, but it is subventing Bus Éireann PSO services on the same route that operate at twice the cost.

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: That is not right.

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: In the example I provided, they operate in tandem. That is just one example of countless others around the country, I imagine. I cannot see how it is in any way sustainable when the NTA is providing hundreds of millions in PSO funding on an annual basis if Expressway can come in and, frankly, undercut the NTA. The other point I want to make is that the prices the NTA is charging rural...

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: In the limited time I have, I want to switch to more Dublin-based questions, which are important to ask. With regard to rapid transit systems, it is fair to say Ireland has had a lot of issues with the availability of public transport, particularly in high density areas and in particular in Dublin, because it is a primate city - let us call a spade a spade. Does Ms Graham think the board of...

Public Accounts Committee: National Transport Authority: Financial Statements 2020 (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: That work is welcome. However, taking the facts and figures that we know, Dublin is one of the most congested cities in the world per capita, which is obviously disturbing. How does Ms Graham feel the organisation is doing with regard to tackling that issue? What plan does the NTA have for the next ten years to lower that statistic and to bring us out of the bracket the city is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: 75. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps being taken to reduce waiting times for passport applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3931/22]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Broadband Plan Update: National Broadband Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: I greatly welcome the representatives from NBI here to the meeting. I greatly enjoyed the experience of going on-site to see the work that is being done. The expenditure around broadband in Ireland is obviously a very contentious issue. It is hard for the public to see the physical scale of the demands that are being put on the organisation. In the NBI’s defence, from an opening...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Broadband Plan Update: National Broadband Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Yes, exactly. I must say that I got a bit of a laugh as she explained that the place is in a very isolated area. The text said that she is living in this area with a very poor telephone reception. I understand that in community centres, schools and other public buildings in which NBI has done its intervention, it requires text messages to be sent to the people in that area, in order to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Broadband Plan Update: National Broadband Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: I will not reveal the lady's name, because we know how identifiable people are in small communities. Let us call her Ms W. Unless she is going to be doing cryptocurrency mining from Inch community centre, which is highly unlikely, I would like to see that facility becoming more accessible. I refer to there being no need for a text message, for example. I understand there is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Broadband Plan Update: National Broadband Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: She will be WhatsApped the clip of this part of the video.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Broadband Plan Update: National Broadband Ireland (27 Jan 2022)

James O'Connor: Apologies for being so parochial, but there is an issue-----