Results 10,421-10,440 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, the basic EU design standard. That is absolutely fine. I will certainly convey the Deputy's views to the local authority on that particular issue if that is what he wants. I am quite happy to do that. It is not a matter within my jurisdiction. If, however, the Deputy thinks it would help, I will take it up. It is a sensible suggestion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I thank the Senator. I will address the rural-urban divide. I fully understand that there is a difference between rural and urban views sometimes, certainly in the interpretation of drinking and driving. The whole culture is somewhat different. I do not think that one can say there is any excuse for driving when over the limit, regardless of where one lives. I know this is harder to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I can give the Senator the up-to-date figures up to today. They are exactly the same as last year. There is absolutely zero difference. At least they are very close to last year's. I monitor them daily. As of today, they are exactly the same as last year's, which is not encouraging and not good. However, none of the measures we have taken, as I said to Deputy Fitzpatrick, has been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: Correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: The figures for this are quite bad. I will read the Senator a note I have here because it is interesting. When a fixed charge notice is issued, more than 80% of motorists pay within the 56-day deadline, so the vast majority of drivers accept and pay the fixed charges. Of the remaining 20%, the Garda Síochána can only at best, for a number of reasons, including non-availability...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: The answer to the question is that I do not know. The figure of 38% I quoted did not concern the people who lost their lives, rather that 38% of fatal accidents were linked to alcohol. It is a slight difference. The Deputy has sought a perfectly legitimate figure. We know that where persons were arrested for drink driving as much as 60% of them were over twice the legal limit, 20% of them...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: If they are available I shall forward them to the Deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I disagree about the proposals being non-partisan. We could be non-partisan about many other things if one wanted but I accept the points made by the Deputy. We are talking here about death, tragedy and nothing else. I appreciate the spirit in which the Deputy has addressed these matters and I hope I will respond in kind to his suggestions. Deputy Regina Doherty has tabled a Bill on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes. The Deputy has made a good suggestion. Initially, I can see no reason against it. A number of pedestrians are killed every year. I do not know how many of them wore high visibility jackets. This could be an education matter. I am beginning to think that the education element has not been as effective as we would like. There are television advertisements all of the time advising...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I shall answer the last question first. The Deputy is quite right that I am very busy. I took the annual report with me on holidays and that was when I made my discoveries. I read the report in my spare time and I had only four days of holidays. I was somewhat surprised, as I know many people were, to find that a final print of an annual report, not a draft, was presented to me in an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I am coming to that but I was trying to explain what happened because the Deputy asked me about the annual report. I sent it back to the RSA in that robust language which maybe was too robust. It is my job to make sure the board is acting properly and to ensure the annual report is in a presentable condition and it was not. That is now behind us and will not happen again. It is not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I am trying to ensure that I do not do it. I will set the criteria but I will not have the responsibility for picking or selecting anybody.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: There are a number of issues there. I will take the Garda issue first, if that is all right. One problem I have is that I agree with everything Deputy Munster said. I agree with her sentiments and with what she wants. She asked whether I was lobbying properly with the Tánaiste on this. I speak to her about it every week. We have a ministerial meeting that is called every quarter at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: During the course of its proceedings, Dáil Éireann voted to include an amendment proposed by Deputy Munster providing for the regulation of rickshaws. The amendment inserts a new power for the NTA. The NTA has since advised the Department that its legal advice suggests that it may not be possible to implement robust and legally defensible regulations covering rickshaws under the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: That may be reasonable. I know it is very complicated. I have actually been asking questions about this and I know there are legal difficulties with it but that is not a reason for not regulating rickshaws.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I agree with the Deputy that the condition of our roads is a factor. He will be aware that the amount of money we have been able to spend on our roads in recent times has been very limited. We are awaiting the capital review. It will be 2018 or 2019 when things really improve. It is a constant struggle to keep the condition of our roads at a steady state. I have asked my Department to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: I absolutely agree with the Deputy on that. Of course, we should have more gardaí on the ground. That is what we want; that is what we would like certainly. We do not have them at the moment. It is certainly not optimal. We have got to improve them. We do not have the resources.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Shane Ross: They are subject to our laws as we are to theirs. There is absolutely no doubt about that. They will get a fixed-charge notice. They will still be detected in exactly the same way as we are. They are subject to all that. There is the application of penalty points. I will tell the Deputy what my brief states on this because I specifically asked for this before coming here today. ...