Results 5,841-5,860 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is right. Better alternatives in public transport are needed. I argue that this Government, unlike any other, has been investing in that. In the last year we have been rolling out a new rural bus service every week. That is just in rural areas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: That is why you have to have the alternative. Prior to this Government, that scale of investment in rural bus transport was not there. It had been in decline for decades. As the OECD said, we had, by design, created a car-centric system. That is changing. We are investing very significantly in rural public transport and having that alternative will make a huge difference. For those...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: It will. I have spoken to one of the officials who was at a meeting on this this morning. We expect it to be published very shortly. Green hydrogen will have a real role in our country because we will have surplus electricity which we will be looking to convert. It is likely that it will be first used where there is existing use of hydrogen, for example, in refineries. We would expect it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with Deputy Leddin that lighter and smaller is better than heavier and bigger. Deputy Leddin might have also said "cheaper" because the reality is that very large vehicles, and there has been a trend towards large vehicles in recent years which is a concern, are much more expensive. The Government has given clear signals through changes to the tax system in VRT and motor tax,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We do not have a scrappage scheme. I am always nervous about scrappage schemes because there is an embodied environmental cost in the manufacture of any car. If we see the lifecycle of a vehicle come to an abrupt end it might not be the most optimal for the environment. We have to make sure everything is safe and meets safety standards. I am uncertain about scrappage schemes because I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The real key to meeting the target is achieving a modal shift to public transport, walking and cycling and reducing the overall number of kilometres driven. This will have a much more significant impact. The modelling shows that if we deliver the electric vehicle targets it will get us so far but even going further than this is not the be all and end all. It will happen anyway. We are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with much of what the Deputy said. Starting with the public spending code, the review of the national development plan, NDP, itself included a significant chapter that recognised that we had created in our public spending code processes too complex a system and one with too many layers. It might perhaps be argued that we are fighting the last war in the sense that, having been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am confident that at the end of the lifetime of this Government, in a year and ten months' time, we will be able to show a real record of achievement across a variety of different areas. Yes, we do want to go faster, but I do believe we will be able to show the record of delivery the Deputy referred to. The point the Deputy made is valid. We need not only to resource An Bord Pleanála...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We should be careful about some of the statistics we are hearing at the moment on emissions. My understanding is that the emissions report from EUROSTAT from the fourth quarter of last year is complicated because it includes international aviation metrics. We should wait for the EPA's inventory details, which it typically publishes in July each year. Otherwise we will be confusing people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: Regarding how we get people cycling, first and foremost, we must make it safe. What is stopping people at the moment is a sense of hazard, which is understandable. I presume the Leas-Chathaoirleach comes in along Clonskeagh Road. He will see there-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The new infrastructure there is a quantum leap and that needs to extend right the way into town and it can. The council is examining many interim solutions. All the money does not necessarily have to be spent on civil works. What Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council showed is how cycling infrastructure can be created without necessarily having huge interventions. That is what we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Leas-Chathaoirleach about the concept. I can see the logic where if someone is travelling between Bangor Erris and Belmullet on a Wednesday afternoon, that should be priced differently from a motorists travelling between Blackrock and Ballsbridge on a Tuesday at 8 a.m. TII is working on Project BRUCE, Better Road User Charging Evaluation, and expects to report by the end of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I fully agree. School traffic currently comprises about 30% of morning rush-hour traffic. If we can reduce that figure, it will have a profound impact. We are looking at costing what is the increased level of public service offering, PSO, that would be needed to give that ultra-high frequency services so that people see it in the same way as the Luas. I also agree about the benefits of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The primary purpose of the document from the viewpoint of the Department of Finance was to raise the question about whether we should establish a sovereign fund. It largely made the case for doing so. In passing, the document makes reference to the fact that we have significant demographic pressures as well as a requirement to invest in climate and digital. However, that was not the sole...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We can go very local and refer to a project that we have talked about a lot, the Castlemartyr bypass. There is no intention whatsoever from my side or that of the Department to restrict that. I will go back and see why the design consultant's report is not proceeding. We have a wide variety of projects in the roads programme, many of which have been built. The reality is that with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We have budgeted €491 million this year for national roads and-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: -----€626 million for local roads.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree and going back to the discussion we had earlier, we need to be quicker, both through our public procurement process and our planning process. Everything I am doing is directed at trying to speed that up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: First, the introduction of E10 will take place on 1 July this year but it does not necessarily mean the biofuel content will be 10%. I think it has to be over 5.5% and because it is a competitive market and different suppliers have different arrangements, they will decide how they will use the ethanol. Similarly, we have the B7 on the diesel side. On the broader issue of hyrdotreated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Sectoral Emissions Ceiling: Minister for Transport (17 May 2023)

Eamon Ryan: There is a scheme called the bike library. It is focusing on parents who might like to use the likes of a cargo bike to bring their children to school and so on. That has proven to be hugely popular and has just been expanded. The Deputy's idea is a good one and it has already started. I will check if there are any international examples, or perhaps the Cathaoirleach could provide me with...