Results 31,421-31,440 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Air Accident Investigations (2 Jul 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will recall, as Minister for Defence at the time of the accident he and the then Minister for Transport agreed jointly that the investigation into the Air Corps PC 9 accident would be conducted by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of my Department, pursuant to Regulation 27 (1) of S.I. No. 205 of 1997 Air Navigation (Notification and Investigation of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport Initiatives (2 Jul 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. Following the establishment of the National Transport Authority (NTA) on 1st December 2009, the implementation and development of infrastructure projects in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), comes under the remit of the NTA. Among the general objectives of the...

Other Questions: Rail Network (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: This question is about plans to develop a rail service to Navan. I will be officially opening the new Hansfield station tomorrow. This is the final element of the first phase of the extension of the rail line to Navan, from Clonsilla to the M3 Parkway. The Government’s policy on capital investment is set out in the document, Infrastructure and Capital Investment...

Other Questions: Rail Network (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: We are going to examine the possibility of extending the line from Pace to Navan in 2015 in the context of drawing up the national development plan for 2016 onwards. At present, it is just not affordable. Every rail line in the country, including the DART, requires a subvention and that subvention is very tight. Even if we were to find the capital required to build a new rail line, we...

Other Questions: Rail Network (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: One could impose a levy scheme on businesses and households along the way, but there would be big downsides to that also. It would have to be a very high levy to fund the project. Much as people in County Meath would like to have the rail line, I doubt that they would be willing to pay levies of that scale to build it. In the case of PPPs, it must be the type of project that will produce...

Other Questions: Road Safety Strategy (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: To update Deputy Wallace, the current state of play is that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, has asked the Road Safety Authority and my Department to write to him with our views on the report that has been published and also our suggestions as to how the penalty points system can be made more robust. That letter has since issued to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and we...

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I do not accept that view. Every Member is elected and has an equal mandate and right to ask questions. The questions which have been asked by Government Deputies have been valid ones. They have not merely been valedictions of my performance as Minister. The Opposition has Priority Questions and no one is allowed to take a second off it. Other questions are for all Deputies. Deputy...

Other Questions: Road Safety Strategy (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: This question relates to meetings with the Road Safety Authority. In recent months, I have met with the board of the Road Safety Authority and, separately, with the chairman and chief executive at meetings and conferences, including today. Our discussions centred on road safety in general, the progress being made on measures that have been introduced and the initiatives required further to...

Other Questions: Road Safety Strategy (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The report on penalty points has been published. The RSA has expressed the view that it would like the Garda Ombudsman Commission to examine it. I have already given my views on that and do not wish to repeat them here today. The report is going to the Garda Inspectorate and the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality for its consideration. Those are the appropriate first steps....

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 6, 27, 46, 51, 55 and 67 together. This question is about the maintenance of regional and local roads. The Deputy will appreciate that this is a statutory function of each road authority to be funded from its own resources which are supplemented by State road grants.  I announced the 2013 regional and local road grant allocations to local...

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Griffin for his comments and I look forward to the Killarney cycle. Hopefully the weather will be good and I will be able to raise lots of money for Kerry Mountain Rescue which is the reason I am doing it.

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The issue of safety is very important. The vast majority of road collisions are caused by driver behaviour and only a small proportion - well less than 15% - are caused either by vehicle defects or road conditions. However, road conditions are, none the less, important. One of the factors worked into the additional money allocated to councils in recent weeks is if the local authorities...

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: As Deputy Heydon said it is a pilot scheme and we need to see how it works out and what we will do next year. I do not have particular information about Kildare with regard to the discrepancies. However, discrepancies usually relate to the number of applications. Approximately 400 applications were received and some 300 were funded. By and large, all the valid applications were funded....

Other Questions: Roads Maintenance (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: In reply to Deputy McEntee, the short answer is "Yes", we are open to that. It is a pilot scheme and we want to see how it works. If Meath has specific proposals in that regard we would be well disposed to facilitating them. In reply to Deputy Lawlor, unfortunately the short answer is most likely "No". The strategic investment fund is still a fund so the money has to be repaid. It will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Roads Authority Expenditure (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The work the Department is doing in regard to the integrated transport strategy is exactly that. Rather than just using a projected growth figure, given these are always wrong one way or the other, which is the nature of these things, we are looking at different scenarios, for example, a low growth scenario, a middle growth scenario and a high growth scenario, and examining what bottlenecks...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities Appointments (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The question relates to the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. I expect to bring a memorandum to Government in the coming weeks in regard to the appointment of a chairperson for the harbour company. Following this, the individual will be required to appear before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications prior to their appointment being confirmed. The occasion of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities Appointments (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: The procedure is that the chairperson will be nominated by the Government. While there has been some delay in doing that and it has not been entirely under my control, I intend to nominate a new chair before the recess. The committee will then have an opportunity to question the chair, and I am sure Deputy Boyd Barrett will take an opportunity to do that with vigour. The exact mechanism...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities Appointments (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: By and large, my preference is to retain the corporate identity of these companies and to have them as companies of the local authority. As I said, I will be guided by the views of the company, the local authority and the local representatives on that issue. Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company is a State-owned enterprise. Like many State-owned enterprises, there are problems with some of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Road Improvement Schemes (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: Taxes are in the purview of the Minister for Finance, of course. I think there is some merit in the suggestion that people should be allowed to offset against tax any contributions they make to help to repair a public road. We are considering it as we prepare our annual submission setting out the things we would like to see included in the finance Bill. I have not yet done due diligence on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Roads Authority Expenditure (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. These questions are about the M50. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall maintenance and funding in relation to the national roads programme.  The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007...