Results 5,961-5,980 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Written Answers — Road Network: Road Network (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The National Development Plan 2007-2013 envisages that, over the period of the Plan, some €4.3 billion will be invested by the Exchequer and the Local Government Fund in the non-national road network. This investment will be primarily aimed at restoring and maintaining the extensive rural road network and investment in strategic non-national roads. A breakdown of investment between the...

Written Answers — Public Transport: Public Transport (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: My Department's Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005, titled Transport Access for All, contains time bound targets for the progressive realisation of accessible transport in Ireland. In general, the timescales for the various elements of the Plan are expected to be completed within the ten year timeframe of Transport 21. The Plan envisages that by end 2012 all urban bus services will...

Written Answers — Public Transport: Public Transport (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: My Department has issued Annual Passenger Licences and International Authorisations issued under EU law to the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway Company (LLSR), enabling them to provide public bus services in the North West Donegal region and services to and from destinations in Northern Ireland. LLSR recently applied to my Department to amend their licences and authorisations to reflect...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The consensus of public authorities concerned with road safety has been that the wearing of helmets by cyclists is best promoted on a voluntary basis by way of educational and publicity campaigns as opposed to going down the regulation route of compelling compulsory use. There are no legislative proposals under consideration to make it mandatory for all cyclists to wear helmets and to...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The EU Type Approval System provides for a harmonised structure for motor vehicles. Vehicles which meet these standards have access to all EU markets. Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the issue of vehicle standards including type approval is now a matter for the Road Safety Authority. Any discussions with the motoring sector...

Written Answers — National Development Plan: National Development Plan (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The Economic and Social Infrastructure Operational Programme (ESIOP) is one of five main Operational Programmes prepared within the framework of Ireland's National Development Plan (NDP) and the Community Support Framework 2000-2006 (CSF) agreed between the Irish Government and the European Commission. The Programme provided for a total infrastructural investment of €26.019 billion, of...

Written Answers — Rail Services: Rail Services (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 155, 156, 157 and 161 together. My Department has asked Iarnród Éireann to provide the detailed data regarding passenger throughput and parking capacity for each station in County Kildare to the Deputy. The position in regard to the improvement of railway services on the Maynooth line is that capacity has been trebled in the last five years. I understand...

Written Answers — Air Services: Air Services (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The issue raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Aer Lingus. I have no function in relation to such matters.

Written Answers — Public Transport: Public Transport (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Dáil Questions Nos. 309 and 310 which I answered on Tuesday last and Question Nos. 37 and 51 which I answered earlier today regarding additional buses for Dublin Bus. These buses, together with the new buses to be purchased by Bus Éireann, and the provision of services by private operators, will facilitate the expansion and extension of services to serve...

Written Answers — Transport Policy: Transport Policy (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I refer the Deputy to my reply to a similar Question from him of today's date.

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: At the end of September 2007, a total of 469,117 drivers had received penalty points on their driving licence record. A driver who accumulates 12 or more penalty points in a three-year period is disqualified from holding a driving licence for a period of 6 months. At the end of September there were 86 drivers currently on 12 penalty points resulting in 6 months disqualification. The...

Written Answers — Air Accident Investigations: Air Accident Investigations (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I have been advised that a total of 23 helicopter accidents have been reported to the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of my Department over the past 5 years. Of these 23 accidents a total of 19 have been investigated and reports have been published with a probable cause. The 4 remaining accidents are still under investigation and final reports will be published in due course. The...

Public Transport. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Good progress is being made on the provision of park and ride facilities in the greater Dublin area, GDA. Iarnród Éireann is currently undertaking a nationwide programme of expanding and upgrading station car parks and 17 of these are in the GDA. New facilities at Leixlip Louisa Bridge and Adamstown were opened already this year and plans are well advanced at Donabate, Rush and Lusk and...

Public Transport. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I do not disagree with the Deputy. There is an emphasis on Transport 21 and some local authorities have been better than others in providing facilities. When the work starts on the metro and the joining of the Luas lines in the centre of the city, we must ensure we have plenty of park and ride facilities on the outskirts. I will encourage the local authorities to provide facilities.

Public Transport. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I have a fundamental disagreement with the Deputy on charges for park and ride, regardless of whether the facilities are in my constituency.

Public Transport. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Gormanstown is in my former constituency; it is in Deputy Shane McEntee's constituency. It gives him an issue that he can talk about. The charges of €2 per day or €5 per week are very modest. The charges were designed to prevent people using the facilities who were not using the trains. It is modest and it provides some deterrent, although the evidence is that it does not deter...

Aer Lingus Group. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The Government's legal advice is that, having regard to the duties of the board of directors pursuant to the Companies Acts and the memorandum and articles of association of Aer Lingus, shareholders do not have the power to overrule management decisions on business matters. In effect, this means that even if the Government on its own, or in combination with other shareholders, called an EGM,...

Aer Lingus Group. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It usually takes Deputy Broughan a little longer to call for the resignation of the Minister he is shadowing.

Aer Lingus Group. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Inevitably, however, he does it fairly often during the course of a Government. The briefing document the Deputy refers to is the one I got containing information about various aspects of the work of the Department. I am glad the Deputy confirms there is nothing in it to indicate a problem.

Aer Lingus Group. (18 Oct 2007)

Noel Dempsey: That is a totally separate issue to do with Shannon Airport generally. The Government, my predecessor and I were always aware when the company was to be privatised that the slots were among the most valuable assets, with staff and aircraft. We can see the competition for them and we endeavoured in the privatisation to put in place as much of a safeguard as we could to prevent the disposal...