Results 2,881-2,900 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Road Safety. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: State road grants totalling €447.7 million were allocated to local authorities on 14 April for the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads. These grants, which supplement expenditure by local authorities from their own resources, represent a very significant investment at a time when public finances are under severe pressure. The capital budget for improvement works this...

Road Safety. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: As I said to the Deputy, the allocation for safety to local authorities has not been touched. It is the same as it was last year. Works will take place in 257 different locations across all the local authorities this year. Work has already taken place in approximately 1,700 or 1,800 danger spots, or accident blackspots as we used to call them. The Deputy wants to have it every way. His...

Road Safety. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The Deputy is talking absolute nonsense again. I have made it quite clear to him that portion of the local authorities' allocation of €126 million, which is used for road surface dressing, maintenance, repair and restoration, has not been touched this year.

Light Rail Projects. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 87 together. Good progress continues to be made on the metro north project. The oral hearing before An Bord Pleanála on the railway order application for the project commenced on 1 April. In addition, the procurement process is being advanced. Four bidding groups submitted the first round of tenders for the public private partnership contract to the...

Light Rail Projects. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I do not believe anything can be done, in particular by Government, in the middle of a procurement process.

Light Rail Projects. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I know the Deputy is trying to be helpful in this regard and I am not trying to be smart about it. However, I do not believe anything can be done in the middle of a tendering process. One of the criteria which must be used by the RPA in deciding on the preferred bidder will be whether or not it is financially able to support the project. The RPA and others would be in a position to talk to...

Light Rail Projects. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I cannot answer the Deputy's last question off the top of my head. If he will accept a broad figure, it could be in the region of €30 million to €40 million but I will not be held to that. If he wants, I can ascertain the figure. The sense of nervousness which might be felt by the tenderers has nothing to do with the National Asset Management Agency or Government finances, rather it...

Light Rail Projects. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I understand the city council has now decided the bus gate will operate from July. That decision was made about a week or ten days ago, two days after I met the city manager, the Dublin City Business Association, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the CIE companies, the RPA and the Garda Síochána - in the stakeholders' group I meet on a quarterly basis, to keep myself updated on what is happening...

Road Traffic Offences. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The issue of cross-Border enforcement for road traffic offences has proved to be a difficult one over the years. Given the variety and complexity of the legal systems in different states, the development of a common approach, whether bilaterally between two states or at an EU level, has always proved extremely difficult. The key issue is how to enforce penalties outside the jurisdiction,...

Road Traffic Offences. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The Deputy has balanced the issue well, because apparently it is a problem for Northern Ireland as well regarding Republic of Ireland cars in the North. However, the number of Northern registered cars here being driven by Republic of Ireland drivers appears to be increasing by the day. I accept what the Deputy is saying in relation to this matter. I met with Mr. Jim Fitzpatrick, MP, my UK...

Road Traffic Offences. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: My understanding is that all 146,000 are recorded, but not on the vehicle driver file-----

Road Traffic Offences. (26 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: They are actually recorded, in the event that they come to the attention of the Garda again. This comes back to Deputy O'Dowd's point to the effect that if they are persistent offenders, we should have a means of ensuring that this behaviour does not continue. This is well worthwhile pursuing. I cannot give the Deputy details about the other 50,000 because it is a matter for the Courts...

Written Answers — Lighthouse Service: Lighthouse Service (21 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) are an example of longstanding British-Irish and North-South co-operation serving the mutual interests of its communities. There are three General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) for Britain and Ireland. CIL are the authority for all of Ireland, the Northern Lighthouse Board for Scotland and the Isle of Man and Trinity House for England and Wales. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (21 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The average time, as of the end of April 2009, for payments to be made by the Department of Transport to outside businesses in respect of goods and services received is 21 days. The details of the average time for payment by each individual agency is a matter for the agencies themselves.

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (20 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: It is no longer the practice to designate sites on the public road network as blackspots. The emphasis now is on identifying locations with a high accident record and devising suitable remedial measures. The undertaking of any survey of its road network, to, inter alia, ascertain its condition, including identification of locations with a high accident record, is a matter for each local...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (20 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: As provided for under Section 30 of the Harbours Act 1996, I have sought nominations for the current vacancy on the board of Dublin Port from a number of stakeholders. The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, IBEC, ICTU and a number of representative bodies from the shipping sector were included in the consultation and I received a number of nominations. The Ports Policy Statement gives a...

Written Answers — Port Development: Port Development (20 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: Rosslare Europort differs somewhat from the other ten State owned commercial ports, in that it operates as a commercial division of Iarnród Éireann, rather than a stand alone company under the Harbours Acts. The port is the second largest roll on/roll off port in the country and provides important transport links to the UK and continental Europe. Traffic through the port has grown...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (20 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in Tables 1 and 2 below. Table 1 lists the appointments I have made to State Boards and State bodies in the period from 1 January 2009 to date. Table 2 provides details of the existing and anticipated vacancies in the period ending 31 December 2009. I will give due consideration to filling any particular vacancy as and when that vacancy...

Written Answers — State Airports: State Airports (19 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 241, 248, 249 and 254 together. Issues relating to business matters generally and employment levels in particular at the three state airports are day-to-day commercial matters for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) in which I have no statutory function. The reality is that the world wide economic downturn has had a seriously negative impact on the aviation...

Written Answers — Traffic Management: Traffic Management (19 May 2009)

Noel Dempsey: The provision of cycling infrastructure in the Dublin region falls, in the first instance, to the local authorities concerned and up to €5 million in financial assistance from my Department is available. Such support clearly depends on delivery on the ground and I am very anxious to see progress being made. While my Department has not, to date in 2009, incurred expenditure on cycling...