Results 4,221-4,240 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Traffic Management: Traffic Management (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Operation Freeflow, the traffic management initiative for Dublin for the Christmas and New Year period, is now in its eleventh year. There are several reasons why this initiative is not continued around the year. First, in the period around Christmas and New Year there are different patterns of travel in the city. In particular, far more people are travelling later in the evening, with a...

Written Answers — Traffic Management: Traffic Management (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The report of the Dublin Transport Authority Establishment Team made a number of recommendations in respect of traffic management. The Team concluded that there needed to be an integrated policy approach to traffic management across the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), based on international best practice. They recommended that the Dublin Transport Authority should be obliged to prepare a...

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I am satisfied that the investment of recent years in upgrading and expanding the rail network represents good value for money. The rail network has been revitalised and modernised and we now have a safer network with increased capacity, providing more services and carrying more passengers than ever. The benefits to the travelling public are evident in the increased numbers using the...

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: If the Deputy had tabled a question on this particular issue, I would have been able to provide a more detailed answer.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I will provide the Deputy with the information if she requests it. The best way to assess the public's attitude to the railway system is simply to look at passenger numbers. The figures are through the roof, with more than 42.3 million passenger journeys in 2006.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: All the new rail carriages that were promised on the Cork route have been commissioned, some of which are currently being tested. I am not aware of any major issues in this regard. These are state-of-the-art trains which offer first-class facilities. An early service will be in operation from Cork to Dublin.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I understand it will be from 1 January.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Nobody has suggested to me it will be otherwise. The latest information I have indicates the service will be in place from 1 January.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy is correct that the rolling stock on other routes is outdated. In terms of the quality of the carriages, I agree it is not what one would want in a modern rail service. That is why 157 new carriages will be introduced next year on all intercity connection routes from Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Rosslare, Westport and so on.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Government agrees this is what the public deserves. When these new carriages are put into operation next year, we will see a major transformation of the intercity rail network.

Rail Network. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I will.

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: CIE has applied for an average increase in 2007 of 9% in Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann fares and a 10% increase in Bus Átha Cliath fares. CIE has based its application on a projected 6% increase in costs in 2007, plus a 3% to 4% increase to meet historical fuel cost increases over recent years which CIE contends have not been adequately dealt with in previous fare increases. CIE's...

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I do not accept the Deputy's contention. The total subvention from the Exchequer in the period 2000-06 is more than €1.76 billion, an increase of more than 60%. The CIE companies will have grown from €190 million in 2000 to more than €306 million in 2007. Perhaps we might look at the other side of the coin and consider whether we are more efficient than other states in our delivery of...

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: Is it ever within the ambit of the Labour Party to admit that anything works well in this country?

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I am proud of what the CIE companies do. The Labour Party view on this is entirely different to mine. We all agree, however, that there is an onus on the companies to ensure value for money for taxpayers and to produce efficiencies in a modern competitive environment. We must acknowledge that they have been working to achieve that. My view on the application from CIE is that the increases...

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: I do not accept that public transport is badly subvented.

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The rail network is expanding. The Labour Party believes everyone will stop using their cars if there are more buses, but that is simply not the case. Alternative modes of transport attract people to public transport and, as much as it galls the Deputy, Luas proves the point.

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: More than 60% of Luas users, approximately 16 million people in passenger journey terms, stopped using their cars.

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: They did not. It was the remaining 40% that came off the buses. The Labour Party does not support light rail.

Public Transport. (6 Dec 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Labour Party constantly criticises public transport policy but Deputy Shortall has not put forward one alternative mode of transport for Dublin city.