Results 5,121-5,140 of 6,541 for speaker:Ruairí Ó Murchú

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: State of the Union 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I had a question on Afghanistan. Obviously, we need to engage on that issue, but what are we looking at into the future? Will Ms Nolan comment on the EU-NATO declaration and what is foreseen when that lands?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: State of the Union 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I am not taking away from its importance. Sometimes it is an easy sell with regard to the wider defence issue, which is different. It is something we have to get to the bottom of straight away. There is no two ways about it. We are starting from behind in this regard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: State of the Union 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I also had a question on the rule of law. It was on what leverage there is and the financial connection. I asked a question at the beginning about An Post and the difficulties we are having and whether the Commission has any involvement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: State of the Union 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It is an issue that is arising. There is a change in customs requirements. Many firms in Britain are not prepared for it. Something else that is happening is the separation between those who receive the packages and Royal Mail itself. The filtering is not working. Things do not get to their destination because they do not have the proper information delivered. It is holding everything...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: State of the Union 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I appreciate it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Gabhaim buíochas leo. I thank Mr. Spratt and his team who have come in. A number of these issues have been dealt with to some degree and I apologise for any repetition. School transport needs to be dealt with. It is a farce every year in respect of who can access it. The Chairman mentioned students on concessionary tickets. A child is meant to get it. Initially, it was for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Is that as opposed to one-off projects? That makes sense.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We had the whole discussion around the NDP. I do not want to misquote the Minister, but the general notion he sold was a Darwinian system of who could get through planning, in relation to what gets sorted. We obviously have a problem in planning. There is a planning review at this point in time. The Department is eventually going to come up with a strategic assessment regarding NIFTI, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I imagine some of that will be resourcing. We can just speed up those parts because it is the delay that creates some of these difficulties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I accept that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Is there a general timeline on that? I thought it was to take about a year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: All right. On the climate action division, Mr. Spratt said, in fairness, that there is a learning process and the officials will be experts at the end of this rather than at the beginning. Much has been learned in the recent period but what will the remit of this be? The secondary question relates to Mr. Spratt saying he put in asks to Government and that he was reasonably but not fully...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: What of the general remit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: If we take the specifics of electric vehicles, there are two issues at the moment. If we were able to deliver 960,000 by means of whatever set-up in the morning, we would not have the infrastructure to deal with them. We are in the middle of an energy crisis and there are difficulties with the grid. One can put whatever terminology one wants on it. I imagine that the job of the division...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is sound. I thank Mr. Spratt for the comprehensive answer. The only other point is to follow up on what the Chairman said about the work relating to e-scooters. That needs to happen. I am sure many of the Deputies here are like me in that they are starting to get people coming to them with complaints. More people are using e-scooters. It is good to see. I probably should not say...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is the thing. Providers are talking about solutions that will add to the active travel operations in towns and cities. It is a case of getting ahead of the game. We must deal with the people who are already starting to complain. It is very hard to keep everybody happy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sustainable Mobility Policy: Department of Transport (13 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I do not know if Mr. Spratt would necessarily have information relating to taxi drivers and what buy-in there is for electric vehicles. A significant number have switched. I have heard complaints from others about the way the process is set up. People will always look for improved circumstances and situations to suit themselves. I am interested in seeing where the lie of the land is. In...

Recovery of Tourism and Aviation: Statements (7 Oct 2021)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I agree with much of what has been said here today. We are talking about the tourism and aviation sectors - two sectors that were hammered by the pandemic we have been through. Some of that pain will continue to be felt into the future, so it will be necessary to keep everything under consistent and constant review. Business and individual supports will be necessary. I agree with points...