Results 6,881-6,900 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I thank the Members of both Houses and my officials for facilitating this Bill and I welcome some of the remarks that were made on its passage. Deputy Shortall is absolutely correct that I seem to be characterised as somebody who actually makes decisions. Based on what she said, I should make no decisions. I defy anybody to question the decisions I have made in only 12 months in the...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Like all such matters, the question is how one can get the information into the public domain and how one advises people. There is probably a greater level of public awareness in respect of many of these issues than was the case heretofore. However, both the Department and the companies directly involved will endeavour to do everything possible to get that message out and to seek assistance...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This is a technical amendment to change section 23(1)(e) in order to provide that the commission may send urgent notifications to railway undertakings by e-mail. As Members are aware, fax machines are rapidly becoming obsolete and e-mail is now the normal means by which written documents are communicated. This might have arisen when Members discussed the matter.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This amendment is consequential to that discussion.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The purpose of this amendment is to increase the level of CIE's guaranteed borrowing power from €317 million to €600 million. The current borrowing limit was set by the Transport Act 1985 and has been in place for 20 years. This increased borrowing limit will allow the speedier progression of management of projects by providing additional cash flow facilities. While the investment...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Such borrowing must be referred to the Minister and the Department.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This is a technical amendment to correct an anomaly in section 40 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001. The current subsection (1)(b)(iv) provides that submissions in regard to a railway order may be made to a Minister within 14 days of the end of its period of public display. However, subsection 3 provides for a submission period of 30 days. I intend to correct this anomaly by...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: While this new Part 17 will form part of the Road Traffic Acts, the main reason for the amendment is to address the extremely serious risks to the railways posed by the continual striking of rail bridges by vehicles. Iarnród Éireann and the road authorities throughout the country have become increasingly concerned about the number of bridges struck by high vehicles each year. I share that...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: That is correct.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I thank the Deputy for that. I do not disagree with Deputy Shortall. While this is a delegated function, I wish to bring some clarity to the issue. My understanding is that the average height restriction on trucks throughout Europe is approximately 4.2 m, while I believe the tunnel is limited to a height of 4.65 m. I restate that I believe that we must reintroduce a height restriction in Ireland.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I have allowed for a wide consultation. I agree with the Deputy.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy has asked a straight question and I am trying to be upfront about this matter.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I am giving a straight answer.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The Minister of State has a delegated function in this regard. However, I want to bring this issue to a conclusion quickly. I am determined, as Minister for Transport, to so do. I agree there has been ample time for debate. Everyone has had a good and wide-ranging discussion on the issue and it is time for a resolution. The impact of this provision will have a limited effect on a small number...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This amendment repeals section 55 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001, which extends the drink driving provisions of the Road Traffic Acts to tram drivers. The House will be aware of the extensive provisions in Parts 9 and 10 of this Bill dealing with drug and alcohol testing of safety-critical railway workers. These provisions also apply to tram drivers and it would not be...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: From the Seanad. (30 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This amendment transfers to the Railway Safety Commission the functions of the Minister under section 15A(a) of the Roads Act 1993. That section requires the consent of the Minister for the construction of a bridge over a railway. The purpose of this consent function is to ensure railway safety and, as such, it is more appropriately performed by the commission rather than a Minister.

Written Answers — State Airports: State Airports (29 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 291 together. I refer the Deputies to my answer to a priority question dealing with Ireland-US aviation relations on 24 November 2005. The conclusion that open skies will be good for Irish tourism, aviation, business links and the economy generally is clear, therefore I do not intend to delay those benefits further by commissioning another study on the...

Written Answers — Rail Services: Rail Services (29 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The rail freight market is to be opened to competition from 1 January 2006, in the case of international freight, and from 1 January 2007 for domestic freight operations. Liberalisation is in accordance with EU Directive 2004/51/EC on the development of the Community's railways. Significant progress has been made on the transposition of this directive and I will be finalising it in the coming...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (29 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Statistics relating to road accidents, based on information provided by the Garda Síochána, are published by the National Roads Authority in its annual road accident facts reports. The most recent report, now entitled Road Collision Facts, relates to 2003 and is available on the NRA website. Reports relating to previous years are available in the Oireachtas Library. The reports give details...

Written Answers — Airport Development Projects: Airport Development Projects (29 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The existing network of State airports and regional airports is adequate to cater for the air transport needs of all parts of the country for the foreseeable future. There are currently no plans to finance the development of any new regional airports from the Exchequer.