Results 2,481-2,500 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Written Answers — Sustainable Transport: Sustainable Transport (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 30 together. Smarter Travel, A Sustainable Transport for Ireland, sets out a range of actions across all areas of Government to deliver a sustainable transport system by the year 2020. The Policy has ambitious targets, including a reduction in car commuting from 65% share in 2006 to 45% in 2020. It also sets out specific ambition in other areas. For...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: As I have indicated in both the Committee and Report Stage debates on the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008, my officials are examining the issue of section 69 of the Harbours Act 1996 in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. It is my intention to introduce such an amendment during the passage of the Merchant Shipping Bill 2009 through the Oireachtas.

Written Answers — Driving Tests: Driving Tests (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Smarter Travel, the Government policy on Sustainable Transport, proposes a number of initiatives relating to eco-driving and driver behaviour. I have established a joint working group between the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the National Sustainable Travel Office (NSTO) of my Department to develop a structured overall plan to ensure that eco driving becomes part of the driving culture....

Written Answers — Light Rail Project: Light Rail Project (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I have previously advised the House that traffic management in Dublin City centre, including public information campaigns relating to traffic management, is a matter for Dublin City Council. As the Deputy will be aware, the Dublin City Manager chairs the Dublin Transport 21 Implementation Group, which coordinates and oversees the Transport 21 investment programme in Dublin, pending the...

Written Answers — Haulage Licences: Haulage Licences (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I have not yet received the Report in question. It would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment on this matter until the Report has been received and examined.

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Ireland has been an active supporter of negotiations on the International Labour Organisation's Maritime Labour Convention in its efforts to promote global labour standards for seafarers. The Convention will enter into force twelve months after 30 Member States representing 33% of the world's tonnage have ratified the convention. The latest information is that five Member States representing...

Written Answers — Transport Sector: Transport Sector (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The Agreed Programme for Government includes commitments to reform bus licensing to facilitate the optimum provision of services by providing a level playing field for all market participants, and to examine the need for a National Transport Regulator in the context of the overall review of the economic regulatory environment. The legislative framework to support the authorisation and...

Written Answers — Public Transport: Public Transport (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Priority Question No. 3 of today.

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Section 30 of the Harbours Act 1996 provides for consultation with a number of bodies before appointments to port company boards are made. Various bodies including the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, IBEC and ICTU were invited to submit nominations for the current vacancy on the board of Dublin Port Company. I have received a number of nominations and will take these into account when making...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions 48 and 41 together. Road safety is a key priority for Government, and this commitment is underpinned by the Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012. We are still on target to meet the overall Road Safety Strategy target of reducing road deaths to no greater than 60 fatalities per million population by the end of 2012. This would equate to an average of 21 road deaths per...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The number of specimens tested for the presence of a drug or drugs by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for the years 2005 to 2008 is as follows: 2005 2006 2007 2008 (provisional figure 747 879 1555 1900 Figures for 2009 are not available at this time. While my Department provides annual funding to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, the allocation of resources to the various programmes is...

Written Answers — Driving Tests: Driving Tests (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has responsibility for these matters. In 2008 I introduced legislation entitled the European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) Regulations, which gave effect to Directive 2003/59/EC. From 10th September 2009, all truck drivers...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The airline industry, along with other industries within the transport sector and beyond, continues to go through a difficult trading period. However, the Government does not accept that the decline in passenger numbers experienced by the airports in the State is due to the introduction of the air travel tax. The difficult trading period in the airline industry arises primarily from weak...

Written Answers — Airport Development Projects: Airport Development Projects (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 46 together. In December last, following the recommendations of the boards of the three State Airport Authorities, I announced the deferral until 2011 of a decision on the separation of the Airports under the State Airports Act, 2004 given the current very difficult circumstances for the aviation sector. When I considered the business plans of the three...

Written Answers — Transport Costs: Transport Costs (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Comparative data on transport costs are not readily available from respected international statistical sources such as Eurostat and the International Transport Forum. Cost competitiveness is a key consideration for Ireland as an open export–oriented economy and transport costs are one of the many factors influencing that competitiveness. Ireland's peripheral location impacts on transport...

Written Answers — Rural Transport Services: Rural Transport Services (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 52, 50 and 447 together. The provision of public transport services in rural areas is being progressed in the context of my Department's Rural Transport Programme and the Government's sustainable travel and transport plan Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future. Thirty seven rural community transport groups are being funded under my Department's Rural...

Written Answers — Public Transport: Public Transport (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I presume that the Deputy is referring to the research study Towards A Sustainable Rural Transport Policy relating to the challenges of developing more sustainable travel patterns for persons living in rural areas, which Comhar, the Sustainable Development Council, commissioned Irish Rural Link to undertake. The research findings in the Comhar/Irish Rural Link report are broadly consistent...

Written Answers — Air Services: Air Services (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 57 together. The aviation sector and particularly the airline sector is extremely cyclical in nature. The airline sector is being badly affected by the current global economic downturn which has led to a significant reduction in consumer demand for air travel, particularly on long-haul routes. The International Air Transport Association, which...

Written Answers — Flood Relief: Flood Relief (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: In September 2004 the Government confirmed the Office of Public Works (OPW) as the State's lead agency in flooding, to be tasked with delivering an integrated, multifaceted programme aimed at mitigating future flood risk and impact. As regards flooding of roads, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is a matter for the relevant local authority, to be funded from its own...

Written Answers — Transport Policy: Transport Policy (9 Jul 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I have been in contact with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on the plans for electric cars. In February I launched Smarter Travel, Ireland's new sustainable transport policy. It contains a commitment that electric cars will form 10% of the market by 2020. The most recent figures available to my Department (May 2009) indicate that 0.2% of vehicles (3,758) are a...