Results 7,601-7,620 of 8,023 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What would it cost per year if a service provider carried out tests on say 10% of Bus Éireann drivers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My understanding is that a medical practitioner must be present.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Would someone drive to Galway to do such a test for €10 to €15?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Do they charge mileage on top of this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What is the total cost?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Would it be €50 or €100? Can Mr. Kenny give me a rough figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I understand Bus Éireann is a large company and trying to do its best in ensuring health and safety standards. Do all its drivers have CPCs, driver certificate of professional competence?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Do they do a pre-service test every morning?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: How many people does Bus Éireann employ? How many buses does it operate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Has the company ever had a problem with drink-driving?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am coming to points of scale of operation. It will cost a single bus operator more money than it will cost Bus Éireann which has a larger number of employees to undertake these tests. In Norway, for example, in new trucks and buses, the driver must perform a breathalyser test when they get into it. If they fail it, it will not start. I am trying to get the Department to look into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My understanding is that there are ongoing developments for a similar mechanism for drugs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My argument back to Mr. Kenny is that we as taxpayers subsidise a certain amount of Bus Éireann’s budget, whereas a private operator has to subsidise himself and keep his fleet on the road.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I urge the delegates to negotiate right up to the last minute to try to solve this problem. There are no winners in strikes. As regards holding on to the extra staff, is Bus Éireann projecting an age profile that would see enough people retiring to facilitate this? Has Bus Éireann taken a look at public transport services around the country? There are counties in which there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: General Scheme of Road Traffic Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On the age profile of the staff Bus Éireann is holding, is the company looking at the numbers who will retire? Is that how it is going to facilitate this change?

Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions: Motion [Private Members] (28 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this debate. I acknowledge Deputy Donnelly for proposing this motion. He understands finance and has worked in various fields in different countries. The one thing we should take from this debate is that the Government should listen to what Deputy Donnelly is proposing.

Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions: Motion [Private Members] (28 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Ironically, we listened to the spring statement today. Everyone welcomes good news and we do not want to be pessimistic, but as that debate was happening, I glanced at my telephone and saw that a family of six in Cork was sleeping in a car. This is the Ireland in which we live. We must ask ourselves where we are going as a nation. In recent months in particular, more people have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme and GLAS: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses for the presentation. I agree with Deputy Kyne that it is a good thing the problem at Derrybrien and Roxborough has been solved. It is a sad day when farmers must get together to get justice for themselves, when common sense did not prevail until we headed for the steps of the court. I refer to the pictures. I am a fair while around looking at land. Is there any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme and GLAS: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am looking at the photograph which I showed earlier. With all due respect to Mr. Evans who stated he is not anyone's keeper, while I understand the amount of work the Department does, many assessments are straightforward. Guidelines are required as otherwise we will have many more cases such as the Derrybrien case. An inspector will visit a site and arrive at a conclusion that may differ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme and GLAS: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Apr 2015)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is there any joined-up thinking with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on all this? With all due respect to the witnesses, they do their job, and I understand that fully, but before they arrive, another crowd will have landed out at a farm and will have told the farmer to do X, Y and Z and that he cannot do X, Y and Z. He or she will have complied with that only for the...