Results 2,441-2,460 of 9,362 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: 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.

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

Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy is correct in that it is a priority for the Government to ensure the transfer happens as quickly as possible. A huge amount of work has been done on this in the Department of Transport working with the Departments of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Housing, Local Government and Heritage to secure that transfer. I do not need to tell the Members that it is...

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

Hildegarde Naughton: All soon as possible.

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

Hildegarde Naughton: This is critical for the long-term viability of those heritage sites. I am probably as frustrated as the Deputy sometimes with the pace of this but every effort is happening across government, between the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Public Expenditure and Reform and, certainly, Transport, which was the lead on this. We realise the importance of this transferring....

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

Hildegarde Naughton: I assure the Deputy that everything is being progressed as quickly as possible. I would love to give him a date but particularly in relation to Shannon Heritage, a huge amount of work is happening behind the scenes. I will relay those points on the NTA and TII to the Minister. It is under his remit in the Department. I do take the Deputy's points.

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

Hildegarde Naughton: This is the exact reason I wanted to have that mid-term review of the regional airports programme so that those exact points of view can be put forward and feed into this issues paper, which will form part of the consultation process. Yes, we need to look at our regional airports programme as it functions in this new world we are now in and -----

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

Hildegarde Naughton: My door is open. I will not make up policy on the hoof here but we do need to make sure there is a rebalancing of air traffic going into the regions. I am open about how that is done. The issues paper will lay out the terms for the public consultation. By feeding into what needs to be asked as part of that public consultation on the regional airports programme, it will give the committee,...

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

Hildegarde Naughton: The consultation will take six to eight weeks. We would not start the consultation on 1 January, for example. We would go into the month of January and also give the committee time to hold hearings on the issues paper, if it wants to.

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

Hildegarde Naughton: People can do that now.

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

Hildegarde Naughton: I was on the media over the weekend. There is an email address, airportsdivision@transport.gov.ie, to which people can email their ideas.