Results 32,841-32,860 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: The Gathering (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: Some funding is available through Fáilte Ireland's festival and events programme. The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, made some announcements on that matter recently. There is a top-up fund for festivals with a Gathering dimension. I believe we need to examine the smaller projects at county level to which the Deputy referred. Obviously, the Department is a bit short of cash at the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: The Gathering (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I recently met representatives of the Arts Council, who when deciding on their funding programmes are taking into account how the arts and arts centres can contribute to The Gathering Ireland 2013. However, they do not envisage being in a position to allocate their funding until the new year. Obviously we would prefer to see that happening before the new year, but that is their call and not...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Transport (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: There are things that can be done over time. Certainly a move to compress natural gas as a fuel over time would save money. We are in an emergency and whatever is done has to be done quickly. That will involve the sale of assets and other cost savings. Luas is an interesting model. Luas should be expensive to run because it involves electrics, tracks and expensive rolling stock, yet it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: This question relates to the remuneration of the chief executive officer of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. The annual report and accounts for the company for 2011 disclose that the chief executive officer received remuneration of €188,477 in 2011, an increase of €19,877 over 2010 remuneration. The matter was the subject of a national...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: The salary is very high for a relatively small company. There are many people running much larger enterprises than this who do not get paid a salary of this scale. For the information of the Deputy, the basic salary is €136,000, plus €12,600 in board fees and a car allowance of €20,000, all of which are contracted and, as a consequence, the chief executive officer is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Harbour Authorities (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I have an open mind on the future place of the harbour company, whether it should remain as a company under my Department, a company under the local authority or be transferred to Dublin Port. I would be interested to hear the views of all the Deputies from Dún Laoghaire on that matter. I accept the rate of remuneration is high. It is not far off the rate of remuneration of the chief...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Transport (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: The CIE group is struggling with a very difficult financial situation. On 24 July last, the Government decided to provide additional funding of €36 million to CIE to ensure that the companies could continue to operate for the rest of 2012. This would bring the total subvention for this year to €278 million, higher than the subvention level for 2010 and the fifth highest level of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Transport (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: The €36 million is still available and to the extent that I can, I will not allow public transport to collapse. The money is available but it will only get the companies to the end of the year. I will not have enough money next year and €36 million will not solve the problems of the company next year. In the past, Governments could come up with more money if it was needed but...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Transport (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and the National Transport Authority are working with public transport operators to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of existing public transport services.  We are not in a financial position to make significant investment in our public transport network but we can get a better return from our existing public transport system, through targeted investment, better...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Transport (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: If the €36 million is required, the PSO will be €278 million, the fifth highest subsidy ever in the history of the State and we must remember that. The subvention increased rapidly in the boom but the subvention of €278 million will still be the fifth highest subvention in the history of the State. There are many people in many sectors who would like 2012 to be the fifth...

Topical Issue Debate: Tourism Ireland Website (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: First, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am aware has received some media coverage in recent days. However, the decision to purchase the domain name Ireland.com from The Irish Times was an operational decision by Tourism Ireland and its board. Tourism Ireland is a North-South body that is jointly funded by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The issue...

Topical Issue Debate: Tourism Ireland Website (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the Deputy's comments and concerns. I agree that Ireland.com is a good purchase for Tourism Ireland. It will be in public ownership, or at least in the ownership of a North-South body. A lady in the United States whom I know quite well and with whom I stayed for some time has an Ireland.com address, and she asked me what .ie meant at the end of all my e-mail addresses. In...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: This question relates to penalty points for taxi drivers. Minister of State Alan Kelly, who is in Brussels today, has responsibility for this area. This month, on behalf of Minister Kelly, I will bring a proposal to Cabinet for the publication a Taxi Regulation Bill 2012, which will strengthen the legislative basis for the regulation of the taxi sector and the enforcement...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Industry Issues (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 17, 23 and 63 together. These questions relate to the performance of the tourist sector in 2012, and efforts to improve visitor numbers and employment in that sector over the coming years. The tourism sector is central to Government strategies for economic recovery and jobs. According to the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Haulage Industry Regulation (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 248, 250 and 251 together. These questions relate to the Haulage Industry. The predominant element of transport costs is fuel. My Department has no direct control over this cost but keeps under review all costs over which we do have an influence, including the cost of services provided through our agencies.  In this context,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Industry Issues (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 47 and 249 together. The Government believes that Tourism and Hospitality is a key sector that will contribute to Ireland's economic recovery. Up to 180,000 people are employed in the industry and total tourism revenues in 2011 are estimated at €5.5 billion. That is why - despite our enormous national financial difficulties - the Government...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Penalty Point System (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 40 and 51 together. The mutual recognition of penalty points between Ireland and Northern Ireland is being dealt with under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC). This work involves the mutual recognition, rather than harmonisation, of certain road traffic offences, along with the penalty points associated with those offences...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos.19, 28 and 71 together. These questions relate to the N2 in the Republic of Ireland, in particular the section from Clontibret to the Northern Irish Border and the A5 in Northern Ireland. As the Deputies will be aware, the previous Government gave a commitment to co-fund the construction of the A5 in Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Traffic Offences (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 24 and 43 together. These questions relate to drug driving. Drug driving is a matter of great concern particularly as evidence suggests a growing prevalence of people driving under the influence of drugs in Ireland. In order to better inform our understanding of the drug driving problem and the options available to tackle it, I...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Sector Staff Issues (18 Oct 2012)

Leo Varadkar: In keeping with the reforms and economies that are taking place across the public sector, the tourism agencies have reconfigured and prioritised the services they provide in order to ensure that the core services required of the tourism sector are delivered.   Over the last year, Fáilte Ireland has merged with Dublin Tourism and is...