Results 4,081-4,100 of 6,541 for speaker:Ruairí Ó Murchú

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I will continue with some of the questions I brought up previously. Maybe there will be an opportunity, when the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, takes questions later, that we might get some answers. President Zelenskyy stated clearly what Ukraine is facing, including Russian war crimes. We have all seen the images out of Bucha. We welcomed Anastasiia, the little girl who was in the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It was a list of Irish companies that are still trading with Russia. It was given to the Department of Foreign Affairs and they have not been given an answer back. Sanctions are moving to coal, oil and gas. Where is the EU on block-buys? We need the mitigations.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Block-buys for fuel and energy. We need alternative sources but the EU is talking about block-buys. We need leverage as regards VAT. Then there are the humanitarian efforts we need to make. We have a housing crisis. Both the EU and ourselves need to be imaginative in relation to producing a result. That is about four questions.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: If we could just chase the answer on the list.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: All right. That is fine.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: President Zelenskyy spoke about Russian war crimes and many other issues, including hunger being used as a weapon. We all accept we need to hurt the Russian war machine and its finances. There has been much conversation about the IFSC and section 110 companies. The Ukrainian ambassador, H.E. Ms Larysa Gerasko, spoke to the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs about a list of Irish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I thank Mr. Walsh. When he was here before, he spoke about difficulties in the planning process and he has been more clear here. I think we all realise the changed circumstances we are in and what is referred to as the cost-of-living crisis. It has a huge impact on building at every level of project. I will raise two things. Previously we discussed how planning is being looked at by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is fair enough. Therefore, it is not the forum TII needs to get the proposals that it has put at this meeting. Has TII had any other engagement with the Government on this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It has been listening but has it given any answers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: No, and there are obviously a large number of subcontractors and so on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: No, that is all right. We will speak in generalities. We want a system that works. Mr. Walsh has spoken on the tendering process and how the lowest cost wins model does not work. He referred to the NEC or FIDIC forms of contract. Will he go into some specifics on how that would work better?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I get the idea of partnership, of everybody being involved from an early stage and where the due diligence is done. Beyond that risk sharing, particularly in the circumstances where we have such price volatility at this point in time, that is probably a given. I do not think anybody is going to take on a contract they may have looked at six months ago. Where is the conversation with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: They cannot do it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Here is the question. I imagine that any time we review the tendering process, contracts or anything, this takes a significant amount of time. What sort of timeline would there be in changing this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: The fact is that Mr. Walsh has had nothing back to say that anybody is looking at or putting a plan in place in regard to this other than listening to him and hearing his problems. We can all do that on some level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Could we possibly get something closer to a proposal, even if it is not absolutely nailed down, that we could possibly put to multiple Departments to get some kind of movement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We have discussed the issues of contracts and tendering, particular during this period of volatile costs, and even planning. The onus is on us to chase up on what our guests have put in front of us, which we will do very soon. That is an absolute necessity. Our guests spoke about the Ardee bypass. Will they explain how it is the only show in town and outline the timelines? As is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Yes, and I appreciate the difficulty that will always be caused when a period of time passes. Certain people probably missed some of the design issues at the beginning. Mr. Walsh made a fair point earlier when he referred to making whatever changes are necessary to make the planning process more streamlined, but there is a necessity for the judicial element to be resourced to the hilt....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: -----so I will not seek further comment on that. Does he have any further information on the upgrading of the N2?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Yes, but I refer in particular to the part that relates to my area, where the road passes through Monaghan and so on.