Results 5,981-6,000 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Priority Questions: Driver Test Waiting Lists (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: An extra 120 overtime tests per driver tester who participates have been delivered. To date, 6,600 extra tests were delivered in the six months to the end of March 2018. There has been a reduction in the number of applicant no-shows at driving tests. The RSA contacts applicants it identifies, from previous behaviour, as being likely to not show. In other words, people who have not shown...

Priority Questions: Roads Maintenance (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is a statutory function of each local authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by Exchequer road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from...

Priority Questions: Roads Maintenance (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I understand, as I do with regard to Deputy Munster, special pleading because I know the roads in Deputy Brendan Ryan's area are in dire need of repair. The local road allocation has been made for this year and there were very large increases, particularly for restoration. I will provide some figures, which might indicate to the Deputy the importance the Government places on this and the...

Priority Questions: Transport Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: We are going over somewhat old territory but it is probably worth listing some of the short to medium-term measures we will introduce. As the Deputy knows, it is a very ambitious plan. We will have additional Luas capacity, with new longer 55 m trams and lengthened existing trams being introduced on the green line. There will be the introduction of a new service timetable to make optimum...

Priority Questions: Transport Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I certainly cannot interfere with the planning process, and I certainly cannot tell the Deputy when An Bord Pleanála will report.

Priority Questions: Transport Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I will not do that. That is matter for An Bord Pleanála. I hope it does it very quickly. I absolutely share the Deputy's frustration but I will certainly not go in there and tell it to get on with it, if the Deputy is going to suggest that I do so.

Priority Questions: Transport Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I am just telling the Deputy I will not. I do not know and I will not do anything about it. That planning process is something which is sacrosanct and I will not interfere with it. With regard to new buses and BusConnects, there is an investment of more than €750 million. The Deputy said it will not happen until 2027. The public consultation on the core bus corridors will be...

Priority Questions: Driver Test Waiting Lists (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Munster for this question, which I must say is a fair question. It is one we have to address. The Deputy is identifying a potential problem, which we are addressing in fact, but she is right to bring it up here. The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017, currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas, will introduce amendments regarding sanctions for owners of...

Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: It is certainly mine. My understanding is that CIÉ is prepared to fund that, provided it is independent advice, but I will check the matter with CIÉ after Question Time because there is obviously a complete and fundamental difference of opinion there. The question the Deputy asked before that was whether I will investigate the governance of two CIÉ pension schemes....

Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: Yes, without getting involved in the detail of any dispute between CIÉ and the workforce, which I will not do. Obviously, I want to see this resolved amicably and in a mature way. Any offer of an independent expert advice to the trades unions to help them clarify facts regarding the pensions issues should be welcomed. That offer, as far as I know and am told, is still on the table,...

Priority Questions: Transport Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: This is not a new question but it is one in respect of which the reply should be updated regularly. The Deputy is right: there are short-term problems which must be addressed and the medium-term steps are equally important. I know he regularly says we do not have a vision and we should have both a long-term and a short-term vision of what will happen. I think we can offer that to the...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: 4 o’clock As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy in respect of national roads. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects on national roads is the responsibility of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the relevant local authority. More specifically,...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I understand the Deputy's passion and I understand why she is doing this. I did say that it is with regret that I have decided that this request will have to be turned down. I made a pledge that I would contact Celtic Roads Group, CRG. The Deputy is absolutely right about that. I made a pledge that I would be in contact with TII about this. The Deputy is absolutely right in that regard....

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I reiterate that I am sorry we cannot do this for everybody. I am sorry we cannot lift tolls for everybody everywhere all the time. TII tells me that it has received numerous requests for local tolls to be waived when festivals are being held. Such festivals have included the Waterford leg of the Tall Ships Races, Limerick City of Culture 2014, the Dublin leg of the Tall Ships Races in...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: What we are talking about is waiving tolls for festivals and creating a precedent. I would absolutely love to do it. I wish there were no tolls in the country at all but we do not live in that sort of a world. I accept Deputy Munster's special pleading for Drogheda. It is fair to point out that Drogheda is the only town which has a tolled slip road leading into it. However, it is also...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: From the south, via the M1, one can take the exit at junction 7. From the north, via the M1, one can exit at junction 10. From the north, via the R132, one can come in from Monasterboice and from the west one can come in via the N51 from Slane.

Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Troy for the question. It relates to a matter which is exercising the minds of a large number of active pensioners at CIÉ. He is right to raise this up in the House, even though it is not one with which I am very directly involved. However, I think the information that will come out of this debate will be useful to many of those people involved in the scheme. Issues in...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: EU Funding (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: While the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has overall responsibility for EU Cohesion Policy and the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds, at the outset I think I should clarify the position regarding the Cohesion Fund. This Fund is aimed at Member States whose Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average. For the 2014-2020 period, the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services Data (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy is aware, the Rail Review was undertaken jointly by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Iarnród Éireann and was published in 2016. The purpose of the Review was: - to look at the existing rail network; - to identify the funding required both to maintain the network and to provide for necessary capital works; - and to consider the gap in funding. My...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Policy (24 Apr 2018)

Shane Ross: My Department's role in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of developing national tourism policy. It is not directly involved in the management, development or marketing of particular tourism initiatives, which are matters for the tourism agencies. In the context of overall national policy, Fáilte Ireland has operational responsibility to support the development of...