Results 9,141-9,160 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy is aware, on the proposal for a rail line from Navan to Dublin, an assessment report was undertaken by the NTA, which has responsibility for the development and implementation of public transport in the greater Dublin area, GDA. The assessment report undertaken by the NTA was published as a background paper to the draft transport strategy for the GDA at the end of 2021. It...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: It has not been promised for 25 years. It has only come back into the frame as being formally subject to the greater Dublin area transport strategy.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I know but it was never on the formal strategic list of projects that would be invested in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: It was before my time.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: That was over 20 years ago. Now the assessment has been done and it has been decided that this is the correct strategic investment for us to make. We have to be honest with the people of Navan though. As I said earlier, we have €70 billion worth of projects and we have a €35 billion budget in this decade. It will probably be a similar budget in the next decade but we have to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy and we need to build as quickly as we can. What would also complement this, as well as the greater Dublin area transport strategy, is the strategic rail review we are completing at the moment. It is important that it also indicates that the likes of this line make sense in where our investment priorities lie. We have a lot of priorities and we have a real challenge....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: No. It is not.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is right. We have an immediate issue in Meath and Kildare, where all this population growth is happening, and we must provide public transport solutions there. We also have to invest in the other parts of the country, as we discussed earlier, including in rural Ireland and elsewhere.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I understand that the NTA expects to commence the review of the 2016 Galway transport strategy and the development of a new Galway metropolitan area transport strategy by the end of this year. The NTA will appoint a specialist team through an open tender process to assist it, in conjunction with Galway city and county councils, in undertaking work on developing the strategy. The tendering...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I will spend the money on public transport all right; the Deputy need not worry about that. I absolutely agree with him. This must be key for the ordinary Joe and Josephine on the side of the road. We only started this last year so we are learning. The first two were in counties Leitrim and Kerry, down on the Dingle Peninsula, where really good lessons were learned. In Leitrim we learned...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: It is a timely question following on from the previous one. I thank the Deputy for this chance to further discuss the rural transport programme funded by my Department and managed by the NTA, under the Transport for Ireland, TFI, Local Link brand. My Department is strongly committed to improving public transport services in rural areas and to piloting new transport initiatives for people of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I absolutely agree with the Deputy. Part of Connecting Ireland must be integration so that all the transport services connect both in ticketing and in timetabling. As I said earlier, we might also have the integration of different services such as health, like we did in County Leitrim where we integrated the health public transport need with the wider public transport need. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I will say one last thing, speaking from personal experience. This goes back to what we were saying earlier about the roles for different transport companies. John McGinley Coaches and all the private operators in County Donegal also do a really good job. I have had personal experience-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Yes, but they play a vital role. They often provide really good flexible services where a person is picked up by a smaller minibus when he or she gets off the larger bus. In my experience, there is a key role for the hackney system. I will mention the Roartys in Dunlewey and others who can provide a really good service. Our definition of public transport must include a whole variety of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree. I would ask the NTA to look to plan this in a way that ensures it all joins up.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I share the Deputy's concern and, as I said earlier, the NTA apologises to the travelling public, who are not getting the service they deserve. I am informed the NTA is formally meeting the company weekly to review performance, associated customer feedback and driver recovery plans, and there is continuous monitoring and engagement with the operator to improve the situation. As the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree that great work is done by a wide variety of bus companies throughout the State, and this is not to denigrate one type versus another. Moreover, we have had problems in some of the public transport routes elsewhere. Nevertheless, one of the mechanisms here involves review, monitoring and consequences if companies are not able to meet the standards set. If that proved to be a more...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I am conscious of the need to connect our people and places throughout Ireland. It is important to provide access opportunities for all citizens to employment, education, healthcare and shops, and this is especially true in rural areas such as south-west Cork. One of the key plans for enhancing the existing transport network is under my Department and the NTA's...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Bus Services (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: That service, first and foremost, is for the people of Skibbereen, Bantry and Glengarriff, as well as the people in Kerry and beyond. It will start in two months and it is a new service. It is a good news story for the people of Bantry, I would suggest. Similarly, for the people of the Beara Peninsula, it is a significant development. Let us go further, however, if we can get the money....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Taxi Regulations (22 Sep 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I assure the Deputy that I as Minister, and the National Transport Authority, NTA, as the statutory taxi regulator, are committed to ensuring a sustainable and viable taxi sector. That commitment is evidenced by the supports introduced in recent years to assist the sector as it dealt with, and now recovers from, the Covid-19 pandemic. These supports include the electric small public service...