Results 6,741-6,760 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Noise Pollution Legislation (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: -----at any time on this issue and my officials have engaged-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Noise Pollution Legislation (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: -----in conversations. I cannot hear myself, let alone Deputy Troy. I certainly cannot-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Traffic Management (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: That is a fairly extraordinary suggestion. No, there is no concerted plan of any sort that I am aware of to cause such disruption.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Traffic Management (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I am not aware of one and I can assure the Deputy that there is not one because I would be aware of a plan to do anything of the sort. The Deputy is right about one or two things, however. The issues were well flagged. There was a mismatch and still is a certain mismatch. A lot of that has to do with the anticipation of what would and will happen when An Bord Pleanála reaches its...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: This is a subject on which Deputy Munster, like virtually every Deputy, will have received submissions from many of those working in CIÉ who are members of the pension funds involved. She will have the same sort of sympathy that everyone else would have for people in this situation where the pension fund is in deficit. Issues pertaining to CIÉ’s pension scheme are primarily...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I am not aware of any ministerial directive that they have ignored. I have asked them this question and they have complied with every statutory instrument to which the Deputy refers. It is a tragedy and is very difficult for the members, but it is not unique. The deficit the Deputy talks about is far from unique for people in this situation at the moment. It is a defined benefit scheme. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I repeat that CIÉ has assured me that it has complied with the statutory instruments to which I have referred and I will have to leave it at that. If the Deputy can refer me to a case where a statutory instrument has been defied by CIÉ, I will certainly take action on it because that is important. CIÉ has received all the representations which have been made by Deputies and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Traffic Management (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for the question. He is quite right: there is a congestion problem in Dublin. Dublin City Council and the National Transport Authority, NTA, jointly published in 2015 Dublin City Centre Transport Study, which sets out the various measures proposed for Dublin's city centre to ensure the efficient functioning of transport within the city centre. In preparing the 2015...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Traffic Management (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: Deputy Troy is absolutely right: there have been some teething pains as a result of the introduction of Luas cross city. These are not confined to the areas to which he referred; there have also been problems with people getting onto the trams and there has not been enough capacity. However, this is being well addressed and will, I hope, be resolved in the weeks to come. This involves...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Railway Stations (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I am aware of the increased demand for commuter services, particularly during peak commuter hours.  The NTA's “Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) 2016-2035” provides a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the GDA over the next two decades.  The DART Expansion Programme, which is a cornerstone project of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sport and Recreational Development (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: The public consultation process for the new National Sports Policy, to which Deputy O'Keeffe refers, was a most useful exercise. It resulted in the receipt of 54 submissions from a wide range of stakeholders including Government departments, National Governing Bodies of Sport, Local Sports Partnerships and private individuals. My Department and I have closely examined the content...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sport and Recreational Development (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for his question concerning this important policy development. Its importance reflects the highly consultative process that has been followed by my Department. A public consultation was initiated in late 2016 and resulted in the receipt of 54 submissions from a wide range of stakeholders including Government departments, National Governing Bodies of Sport, Local...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Noise Pollution (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: As the Deputy is aware, the Government recently approved my proposal to designate Fingal County Council as the noise regulator for Dublin Airport in order that Ireland fully complies with EU Regulation 598/2014. The Regulation sets out how Member States should regulate noise at major airports, under a regulatory framework that provides for the measurement, management and on-going...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Services for People with Disabilities (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: The National Transport Authority (NTA) has functional responsibility for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network. The NTA has advised my Department that while it does not propose to establish a separate office such as the Deputy has suggested, it is assessing the potential of a more centralised general contact facility for public transport...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities 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 State road grants.  The initial selection and prioritisation of projects...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Military Aircraft Landings (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 24 together. The purpose of the ongoing internal review of the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973, is to identify the options available for various aspects of the Order. The internal review will be completed in the coming weeks. The Chicago Convention, which is the main international treaty...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Services (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: The Rail Review Report 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. Since the Rail Review was...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: I wish to advise the Deputy that following the mid-term review of the Capital Plan, Budget 2018 provides for an increase in the multi-annual capital investment for public transport with a four-year capital envelope of €2.7 billion over the period 2018-2021. This substantial multi-annual envelope includes funding of over €770 million for the BusConnects programme to fundamentally...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Services for People with Disabilities (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: Accessibility features, such as wheelchair access and audio/visual aids, are built into all new public transport infrastructure projects and vehicles from the design stage. Newer systems such as LUAS are fully accessible. In Budget 2018 I secured a trebling of the funding provided for the accessibility retro-fit programme as part of the 4 year capital envelope for public transport...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network Expansion (15 Feb 2018)

Shane Ross: The National Transport Authority's (NTA) "Transport Strategy for the GDA 2016-2035" proposes implementation of the overall DART Expansion Programme.  As the Deputy may be aware, the Government’s budgetary framework for capital investment, "Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021", which was reviewed last year in the context of the Mid-Term...