Results 10,101-10,120 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Yes, it has, but it is not very helpful to take these figures completely out of context. The Deputy is well aware that 2008 was the high point and of why it fell. The economy and the country's finances were in absolute turmoil, something on which we will not comment now. The Deputy is well aware that during the recovery the subvention has increased. It has been increasing for the past two...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The Deputy has asked a lot of questions and I want to address-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The Deputy was here last week. He should have addressed the question to the NTA and I presume he did. It is an operational matter. I am not here to answer questions about operational matters. The NTA decides and it is independent of me. Presumably, the Deputy addressed the question to it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I think the NTA has stated the service Athlone will be an extension of the existing PSO route.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: It is very easy to call for getting all of the parties together. I am interested in an industrial dispute being sorted out by the two parties involved. If all of the parties were to come together and discuss policy, it would be a completely different matter. For now, it is imperative that the two parties get together to avoid a strike. If I was to call together all interested parties in a...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: What will be addressed at the WRC are the industrial relations issues. The Deputy is right. The deficit of €30 million to which he referred will, presumably, be addressed in a business plan which the company is composing and will produce shortly.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The report which the Deputy only received last night for reasons I have explained addresses procedure, enforcement, scheduling, compliance, the efficiency of applications and such issues. The NTA is required to produce a report every five years. The Deputy is asking me when we will address the issues dealt with in the report. The report was only produced last month. It is being examined by...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Sorry, it was October 2016. It is being examined by my Department. I will be very happy to look at the recommendations that will come to me shortly, consider them and bring legislation forward if it is recommended.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The recommendations will come from my Department very shortly. They have not been made yet, so I could not have seen them.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The Department has to consider them.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Everything in this report has been and will be given serious consideration. It is not a trivial matter. It is a matter that has to be treated very seriously because it is a matter that might provoke and prompt legislation.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: No. It is fine.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I will take the last question first. It is somewhat rhetorical language that the Deputy is using, saying that I sat back and did nothing. That is patently false. I can see what she is saying but that is absolutely untrue. I have been extraordinarily active in this area. What I have not done is the one thing she has asked me to do. That does not mean inaction - quite the opposite. I do...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I do not think it would have been helpful then either. I do not believe it would be any more helpful at the 11th hour to do that. I am very hopeful that the parties will get together again in the next few days and behave in a responsible manner. That is the consistent position I have taken. The Deputy holds a different point of view but it is not one the Government shares. I reject that...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I have only four minutes; maybe I can try to get through the questions and she can come back.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The Deputy spoke about a review on social services. The NTA decides what is and what is not a social service. That is not a matter for me. However, I would say our PSO services have been expanded and the NTA has already decided to extend PSO in response to the change on the Athlone to Westport route, which is a pretty aggressive and rapid response. The Deputy referred to a second-class...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I would not call it a second-class service. The Deputy must be used to first class and I am used to second class.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The reason there would be less frequency was because there were too many buses presumably on the routes at this stage.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I am not talking about saturation; I am saying it was because there were too many. Let me address the Dublin-Clonmel situation. In Clonmel, to which the Deputy referred, the NTA determined that no action was needed at the minute except for changes to the rural transport timetable to facilitate connectivity to commercial services. That service calls at more towns and villages than...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: If they were to pull out following the public service route pulling out-----