Results 8,561-8,580 of 15,510 for speaker:Brendan Griffin
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Does Mr. Gaston wish to answer that question?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Deputy Troy has already had 20 minutes, so he needs to be brief.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: I ask members to be brief. A bus that left Dublin will probably be in Cahirciveen at this stage.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Is the Deputy referring to a letter to the Irish Examiner?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: It stated that there would be a contingency.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Can Mr. Duggan clarify whether the 875,000 people to whom we referred actually qualify for and get free travel, as opposed to just being eligible for it? I understand many are eligible but have not applied.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Has the Department any data as to how many people qualify for free travel but never use it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: A huge proportion have not been used.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: The Department pays €76.6 million to all operators for the free travel scheme which works out at €90 per annum per head, using the total of 875,000. There are some people for whom public transport is not an option, such as those in isolated areas where they may have to pay for a local hackney to go for their pension every Friday. With some household benefits there is an option...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: I am conscious of people in peripheral, rural areas who get no benefit from the scheme. I welcome the fact that cards are coming on stream. How many paper passes are out there at the moment? Is Mr. Duggan concerned that people who are not eligible for free travel use these passes, resulting in an abuse of the system?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: This has photo ID.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: The paper passes did not have photo ID but just a name.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: If grannie Mary passes away there is nothing to stop granddaughter Mary using the paper pass today.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: I have spoken to drivers who feel helpless about the situation but know in their heart and soul that someone is availing of a pass which is not theirs. Revenue is being lost to the system as a result and I think this is a big feature of the fact that Bus Éireann is incurring huge losses. It is a great scheme for those who are entitled to it but we all get reports of this happening....
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: How does the Department police the situation regarding companion passes? I have heard some really disturbing stories about abuses of this. Are measures being considered by the Department to try to minimise the amount of abuse of the system that is happening?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Has the Department examined options?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Unfortunately, there is a very real prospect of major strike action next week. We hope it can be avoided. In respect of private operators, has the NTA contingency plans in terms of ensuring that there is no abuse of licences so that nobody operates routes they should not be operating during that period? Has the NTA plans to address that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Ms Graham spoke about the NTA figures from 2012 to 2015 which show that passenger numbers on the Dublin-Cork route are up by 61% and that numbers on the Dublin-Limerick route are up by 50%. Could Ms Graham clarify that this relates to the number of passenger journeys made?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: Could Ms Graham tell us about the increase in capacity or supply?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation in Bus Éireann: Discussion (22 Feb 2017)
Brendan Griffin: I am going back to basic supply and demand. If there is an increase in the number of passengers, passenger journeys are in isolation if we do not know the capacity increase. The concern would be that there is over-supply.