Results 7,021-7,040 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: This came to fruition during the debate and in another forum. The momentum gathered and I said I would stand back. If there is a better way, I try to work with it if it is possible to do so. It has caused some delay but the consensus is that it was better to establish the new authority from scratch and appoint the interim chief executive officer, who is already working away on getting things...

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 172, 183, and 186 together. I refer the Deputies to my reply to a Priority Question earlier. The conclusion that open skies will be good for Irish tourism, aviation, business links and the economy generally is clear and I do not intend to delay those benefits further by commissioning another study on the impact of open skies. As already stated in reply to...

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: While Shannon Airport faces significant challenges, it will also be presented with major opportunities. The change should be embraced positively, not negatively. I instanced why management at Knock Airport, which has a smaller hinterland compared with Shannon Airport, is positive about the open skies policy and looks forward to providing many transatlantic routes. As Shannon Airport is a...

Air Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Deputy Olivia Mitchell would make a good snooker player as she tries to position me between two opposing points of view. The negotiations were difficult because I was trying to strike a balance to benefit the entire State but, equally, I wanted to achieved a transitional arrangement for Shannon Airport. The balance has been struck and even though open skies will be in place next year, there...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 19, 25, 39 and 98 together. The licensing and allocation of track access for rail operations are governed by two EU directives which have been transposed into Irish law: SI 537 of 2003, the European Communities (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2003 which transpose into Irish law EU Directive 2001/13 establishing a mechanism whereby an...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: That is not the case. I have enunciated my priority to the Deputy but I am not going to start liberalising the market by suggesting to the market generally that there is a pot of taxpayers' money to be shovelled out to it willy nilly. That is not the route I am taking, and I hope the Green Party will support me in that. New and innovative ideas may well come forward which may involve new ways...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: As I said earlier, perhaps when Deputy Ryan was not in the House, what the Irish rail freight market offers is clearly very limited. Rail freight is only viable over long distances. The island of Ireland, being the size it is, does not provide that type of capacity in its network.

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Unlike most other European countries, which are connected to each other, we are not. We are quite isolated in the context of the international rail freight market. While I encourage entrants to the Irish market, it is not rocket science to figure out why there is not a great interest in the market.

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I wonder if people listen to me. I have been saying all along that a major, substantial international operator is very interested in coming onto the Irish market. That is terrific news. Are we saying that one such operator is not enough, that there should be ten or 20? One substantial competitor would have a dramatic effect on the Irish market. Let us be realistic about the scale of our...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I can put on the record, because it is already known, that the company which came and did the deal, and publicly stated that Iarnród Éireann did everything to facilitate it, was the Norfolk Line which runs major railways internationally. I was at the meeting, which was not organised by me, where it made its statement. The problem is that getting the unit load from the factory door to where...

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: That is why we have invested up to €900 million.

Rail Services. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I have answered all the supplementary questions relevant to the question before the House. The Government and I are committed to facilitating in any way we possibly can the development of rail freight.

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The latest available analysis from the National Roads Authority, NRA, of the factors contributing to fatal and injury accidents, as published in Road Collision Facts — Ireland 2003, indicates that behaviour of drivers, 86%, and pedestrians, 10%, are the key contributory factors, whereas road factors were identified as contributory factors in only 2.8% of fatal and serious injury collisions....

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I would sympathise with any family that has lost a family member under any circumstance, tragic circumstances, road accidents and so on. That goes for all of us in the House. I simply made the point in reply to the Deputy's question that the latest figures show that road factors were responsible for only 2.8% of fatal and serious injury accidents. I went on to say that notwithstanding that...

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Since we are heading into the Christmas season I ask people throughout the country to respect themselves, the road and other road users by driving with great care over this Christmas.

Road Safety. (24 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: Let us, collectively, try to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.

Written Answers — Transport Initiatives: Transport Initiatives (23 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 171 together. Transport 21 is a fully costed programme. The €34.4 billion is based on the aggregate costs of the constituent projects and these are in turn primarily based on costs provided by the transport agencies. The agencies have confirmed that the costs and underlying assumptions are as rigorous as possible, taking account of the various stages...

Written Answers — Parking Regulations: Parking Regulations (23 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 401 of 25 October 2005. That reply is set out as follows and the position remains unchanged. If it would assist the Deputy, my office would be happy to arrange for the Deputy to discuss these issues with the relevant officials from my Department. Traffic and parking regulations made in 1997 under section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 provide...

Written Answers — Road Safety: Road Safety (23 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 440 of 8 November 2005. That reply is set out as follows and the position remains unchanged. The Road Traffic Acts provide that a member of the Garda Síochána may require a person in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle to provide a preliminary breath specimen where the vehicle is involved in a road collision, where a garda considers that...

Written Answers — Transport Initiatives: Transport Initiatives (23 Nov 2005)

Martin Cullen: The projects within Transport 21 will be subject to normal statutory procedures where required, capital appraisal in line with the Department of Finance guidelines and the value for money initiatives set out in the Minister for Finance's speech of 20 October last. Some elements of the overall investment programme, including metro north and the rail investment programme for the greater Dublin...