Results 7,561-7,580 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 13, 23 and 70 together. As the Deputies are aware, the strategic rail review is being undertaken in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The results of the review will inform the development of the railway sector on the island of Ireland over the coming decades. A draft report is currently being finalised by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree. If there is an instance where, as the Deputy said, somebody is paying for a toll but has a backlogged fine and the payment does not go towards the toll but towards the backlog and they then get a further fine because they have not paid that toll, it seems so me that there is perhaps a communications issue in that situation in terms of it not being transparent or clear that people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: We are committed to improving public transport in rural and urban areas across the country. A key deliverable among the policies we have put in place is the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. TFI Local Link services are responsible for the vast majority of new routes under Connecting Ireland. The latest figures from October last year show Local Link delivered 17 of the 25 new and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am very supportive of the NTA and the work it has done on this matter. It has had a central role in designing, promoting and pushing the new Connecting Ireland system. It has been given additional staff resources in the past two years so it can scale up. I agree that the Local Links are the right vehicle. They are community-based and distributed across 15 centres in a network with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree on the bus stop issue. As the Deputy will recall, we were in Ennistymon recently and I decided to use one of the local services. I did not know where it stopped, which was confusing. There could have been better information online about the timetable and the route. I agree with the Deputy. This is starting to work but this could work even better. In many instances it would be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Network (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I look forward to visiting Sligo again. I have been trying to get out there. I am visiting Westmeath County Council tomorrow and I look forward to visiting the county councils in both Sligo and Leitrim to talk to them about the climate action plan we have to deliver together. I am looking forward to visiting Sligo in particular because one of the most interesting pathfinder projects in our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Network (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I might take the Deputy up on that offer. We can go surfing together in Strandhill. The national planning framework gives us the way forward. We need better balanced regional development. There is excess development on the east coast, especially in the greater Dublin area, and we need areas such as Sligo, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick to grow as a counterbalance to that. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I contacted Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, in respect of the matter raised by the Deputy and its representatives informed me that eFlow appreciates customers may run into difficulties when paying their tolls and strives to assist customers in resolving these matters. To this end, eFlow has a dedicated resolution team within its operation, which engages with customers who are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: What the Deputy described, where somebody who owed €240 to eFlow contacted the company and agreed a graduated payment but nonetheless ended up with a €1,000 charge due to enhanced fines or other interest costs, seems unacceptable, although I do not have all the details. That would not encourage people to do what my prepared reply recommended, whereby customers in such a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy. We want to get people onto public transport for so many different reasons and making sure there is a safe environment is critical to that. This is happening. I was on the radio this morning and I mentioned some figures I saw yesterday. I think 80,000 young people have taken up the leap cards and new travel cards. They are taking off. On the issue of public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Network (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: These two schemes are distinct from each other, as one is a national road and the other is a local road. I will, therefore, update separately on each scheme. The N4 is the national primary road between Dublin and Sligo and it connects to both the N5 to Westport and the N6 to Galway and Athlone, forming a strategic corridor to the north west. The proposed upgrade aims to address...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I will not reiterate the written response because it would be similar to the response I gave to Deputy O’Rourke. The role of my Department, as the Minister of State mentioned on another issue, is working with the NTA and operators. We meet them regularly. If there is an issue with security, reliability, getting workers or other things, while we do not run the bus service or train...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I am slightly nervous because, as the Deputy said, it is an issue for the Minister for Justice and An Garda Síochána. The Deputy is right. I said to Deputy O’Rourke earlier that there is an argument in favour of establishing a unit outside An Garda Síochána, but I do not think that would be appropriate or correct. I recently visited the new control centre in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I absolutely share the concern for drivers who are being threatened and terrorised in that way in that instance the Deputy mentioned. It is totally unacceptable and all of us collectively have to make sure they are protected and safe in what they are doing. There was significant development with the Tallaght stakeholder forum meeting this week. That is very important. This best way for us...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: If I understand Deputy O'Rourke correctly, it is a matter for An Garda Síochána rather than for a separate policing service. I agree with him on that. I know there are different views. Some people are arguing that we should have another completely separate police service for the transport system. I do not agree with that. I think it is best managed within An Garda...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Deputy for his question and the opportunity to discuss the serious issue of safety on our public transport network. Antisocial behaviour is a wider societal issue to which public transport is not immune, and I fully recognise that those who regularly use and work within our public transport network are most directly impacted by any associated incidents. Safety and security on...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The Programme for Government commits to a ‘fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland’ and this is supported by the National Development Plan which has allocated €35bn to maintain, enhance and improve transport infrastructure across the country over the next 10 years. BusConnects Dublin is one of the improvements we need to make and as well as the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Councils’ own resources supplemented by State road grants, where applicable. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I would like to thank the Deputy for his question and the opportunity to update on progress made to provide a bus service for Ennis. The National Transport Authority has advised that in December 2022, with the assistance of TFI Local Link and the Ennis 2040 team, a route test exercise was carried out on the preferred bus route alignments. Whilst final routes may change slightly for...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Facilities (19 Jan 2023)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel infrastructure. The National Transport Authority (NTA) along with the relevant local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of individual projects. In support of the quality of infrastructure, and in particular the standard of urban cycle lanes, there is much...