Results 5,481-5,500 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is right in the sense that the traffic corps has been depleted and has been too low. As a result, it has not been up to the efficiency we sought in apprehending people for committing the offences to which I referred, such as speeding, drink-driving, using mobile telephones and driving without safety belts. The Deputy is also correct that the number fell back to a level which...

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I will give the Deputy some figures. I do not dispute much of what she is saying about ten years ago. Neither she nor I was around then, and she cannot really blame me for that.

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The RSA's road safety strategy lists a target of 990 roads policing gardaí by 2020. I was assured at the ministerial committee a few weeks ago that this will be achieved.

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I was further advised on 2 May 2018-----

Priority Questions: Road Safety Strategy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: -----that 70 new members were assigned to roads policing by the end of the first quarter of 2018 and an additional 80 new members will be assigned to roads policing by the end of the third quarter of 2018. A competition is to commence later in 2018 to select additional members to be assigned to roads policing in 2019 with the objective of securing an additional 100 members by the end of...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for raising this question and I understand the reasons for what he said. As with many of the parliamentary questions, much of what the Deputies say is true but there are very good reasons for certain things happening. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy on roads. The planning, design and implementation of individual road...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I made it clear. To clarify matters, I instructed that it was optional.

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: In regard to funding, I have no doubt the Deputy will welcome the increases I have secured over the 2018 to 2021 period. More than €110 million allocated will be allocated to develop cycling and walking infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In addition, I have also secured funding of €135 million over the same period for...

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I accept fully what the Deputy said about cycling. I do not question his commitment to cycling and if he says I was slow about implementing the statutory instrument, I will accept that criticism in some ways. I am a convert to cycling. I took some time to be converted to the urgency not only for the imperative of the modal shift, which must be more dramatic, but also for all the bells and...

Priority Questions: Cycling Facilities Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: It is appropriate that the Deputy welcomed the fact that I am committed to cycling and it is something on which we can move forward and co-operate. The issue of BusConnects and cycling is important. I would not like the message to be lost, and I would hate it to be lost on the Deputy, that BusConnects is a massive vehicle for improving the lot of cyclists in this and other cities. There will...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: There will also be increases in respect of the Luas.

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: What the Deputy always does so well in this situation is point to the problems and not towards the facts that we are addressing them and that there are solutions on the way. If the buses were empty, he would be saying I was running a white elephant and that there were too many people in their cars. The increasing demand for buses is a reflection not only of the demand for buses but of the...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the chance to clear this up. There is a certain misconception about this problem, which was misunderstood by people writing about it. Of course, their message was then conveyed to the Deputy and others who do not actually know what is happening in this case. It is the policy of the Government since 2013 that the PSC should be integrated into service provision...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is using rather dramatic language. During the integration of the PSC into the driver licence application process, an erroneous policy of making the card the only acceptable form of identification was pursued by the RSA. At no point did the Department then direct the RSA to adopt a mandatory approach. In light of concerns, the RSA's planned approach was in line with neither...

Priority Questions: Public Services Card (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: If there was any confusion, I hope I have been able to clear it up. The Deputy referred to the theory test. She is absolutely right that a PSC is being called for but, in the interest of consistency between the theory test and practical test, alternatives to the PSC will be catered for. To suggest that the €2 million allocated, not all of which has even been spent at this stage,...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the question. Following a period of reduced transport usage and suppressed transport growth during the recession, Ireland's transport activity and demand has been increasing again and is expected to expand further in future years in line with forecast economic growth rates.  The National Transport Authority's, NTA, recent bus and rail statistics bulletin...

Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I will have to provide the Deputy with the exact figures but they will not be difficult to provide. I will be able to provide him with some of them immediately. Against the backdrop of growth in demand for bus services, 140 new buses are being purchased in 2018 for the Dublin Bus fleet to replace older buses and to cater for market growth and new routes, with a further expansion of the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 85 together. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the development and implementation of public transport infrastructure including the provision of bus shelters. The capital funding allocated under...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Policy (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy is aware, the National Transport Authority's (NTA) "Transport Strategy for the GDA 2016-2035" provides the overarching framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) over the next two decades.  The measures proposed in the Strategy are linked to the NTA's assessment of current and projected levels of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sports Capital Programme Applications (12 Jun 2018)

Shane Ross: The 2017 round of the Sports Capital Programme attracted a record 2,320 applications.  In November and December last, Minister Ross and I announced €60m in allocations to a record 1,800 projects under the 2017 round. A review of the 2017 round of the programme has now been finalised and published on my Department's website...