Results 31,021-31,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Tomorrow we will have an orientation debate so it will be the first time to discuss the aviation issue in a formal Council format. I imagine almost every Minister will speak, which will give a good idea of where the matter is going. The Commission will be steered in a certain direction. We have had informal discussions, and, naturally enough, the periphery countries and islands are more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The roadworthiness directive will not be discussed tomorrow. I cannot remember what was agreed on the agricultural issue. Initially there were plans to include motorbikes and so on and we did not go for that. They also wanted to include trailers and we did not go for that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Currently we have discretion with regard to the testing of tractors with a design speed greater than 40 km/h which are solely used for agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fisheries. It is only a proposal but it would leave member states to decide on tractors with a design speed greater than 40 km/h. I imagine those with a speed less than that would not be included.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: That is the current proposal.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: That is no problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Not really, but it is not hugely significant.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I will defer to Ms Brogan on that point. The plan is to go for greater transparency and to allow the airlines to make their own rules but to ensure that these are transparent and clear to passengers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: TEN-T is not particularly targeted at disadvantaged regions or regions with low levels of infrastructure; it is designed to create trans-European networks. It focuses on the missing links across Europe or on the bottlenecks in trans-European networks. The nature of Irish politics is that people think that a European funding stream can always be applied to a local project. However, this is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: It is open to anyone to take a case before the courts. In recent years different types of compensation arrangements have developed through case law and precedent. There is not a clear regulation that sets out the rules in writing for everyone to see. That is the purpose of this regulation. For example, the annex to the regulation lists the extraordinary circumstances. Rather than...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: No. It will be European law. The airlines have their own arrangements and agreements but these are not legally binding, while this regulation will be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I agree it is a balancing act. The objective always is to ensure that passengers' rights are respected. However, one must be careful not to go too far with any of these regulations because there is a danger that business will suffer. One does not want to put companies out of business. I need to study the regulation more. I have been talking to people who are frequent travellers and they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to make a distinction between care and assistance on the one hand and cash compensation on the other. There is no argument that if someone misses a connection, the airline is responsible for making sure the person can get the next available flight. If the person is delayed for a certain period of time, he or she should be provided with assistance or meals. We have concerns...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: This has been raised by Aer Lingus, which has that concern. I met representatives of IATA, the International Air Travel Association, which represents airlines around the world. A point-to-point airline such as Ryanair does not have the same level of concern.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The railway package has been broken into different aspects. Initially, we are dealing with safety and interoperability. It sets European standards which over time would require us to upgrade our railways. We have tried to avoid committing Ireland to European standards that would be expensive to implement but would not make any sense. One example is the European rail traffic management...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I am pleased to attend this meeting of the joint committee in advance of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting in Luxembourg tomorrow morning. In the course of his presentation to the committee last week the Secretary General of my Department, Mr. Tom O'Mahony, briefed members on developments at European Union level since 2012, including developments in and progress on...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Issues (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources supplemented by State road grants.  The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: State Properties (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 208 together. The transport companies under my aegis are the CIÉ group of companies and the Railway Procurement Agency. In the case of these agencies, the disposal of property assets is not subject to any specific authority from the Minister and no requirement is placed on them to consult with stakeholders. In the case of CIÉ, core...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Issues (9 Oct 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The criteria and procedures upon which State owned transport companies assess the suitability of property for disposal by sale or long term lease is a matter for the agencies themselves. I have forwarded your question to the transport companies for direct reply to you, if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days please contact my private office.