Results 1,041-1,060 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Projects Status (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is correct in saying that the original Government commitment was £400 million. This commitment was intended to cover a road infrastructure package, including the A5 and A8, to support the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive. However, for administrative reasons, it was decided that the funding would be paid out in respect of the A5. The funding to which we are now...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Projects Status (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: It would be very wrong if the funding changes which happened as a result of the financial crisis were taken as an indication of a lack of enthusiasm for this project on the part of the Government. That enthusiasm has not been diluted in any way. The Deputy knows that because of the financial crisis that hit this country, the Government decided in 2011 that its commitment to provide funding...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I thank Deputy Collins for her question, which has details supplied. I think I am to answer two questions together. That is fine, as long as the Deputy has got away with it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I am taking her question. What I am saying is that the text of her question relates to two issues.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: Yes, that is fine. I thank the Deputy for her questions and a further opportunity to discuss the very serious issue of anti-social behaviour. As I said in my earlier reply to a similar question from Deputy Lahart, while the vast majority of public transport passenger journeys occur without incident, the safety and security of both public transport passengers and staff, including...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: As I said to Deputy Lahart, this is a matter for the Garda, not me, to enforce, but I will facilitate it in any way I can. I have been in touch with all the relevant companies about this and they are taking measures to address the issue very energetically. The Deputy is right about Iarnród Éireann - I will quote a number of figures to her - but what she says is not the case with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I am not sure what the Deputy is referring to when she speaks of a report back from the action. I think she is referring to what was called Operation Twintrack on 13 September, which the Garda carried out. It was a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the rail companies to promote high visibility and strong community engagement on the rail network on that day. Gardaí...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Fares (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for raising this subject, which is certainly worthy of debate. It will not surprise her that I am not going to announce free public transport in the House this morning, but it is a debate that is certainly worth having, and perhaps for longer than ten minutes. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services by way of public...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Fares (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: The Deputy and I share a common belief that we want to reduce emissions, particularly from private cars. We probably part company after that. Like everybody else, I would love to see public transport free for everyone. It would undoubtedly produce, as the Deputy said, a big rush into public transport. The problem is that the €600 million only addresses the current issue. It would...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Fares (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: Again, I endorse the Deputy's ambition, although I do not necessarily endorse the path she wishes to take to it. We have laid out a strong, determined and clear path as to how we were going to do this and how we are going to get people out of their private cars.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Fares (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: That is matter of opinion. I sympathise with what the Deputy says. It is not something I agree with but I can see her point of view. In the urban bus fleet, a clear path to low-emission buses has been outlined. Project Ireland 2040 contained a commitment that diesel-only buses will no longer be purchased for the urban public bus fleet from July, and that has been done. In preparation for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Transport Policy (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy for his question on a very serious and worrying matter that has increasingly come to the fore in recent times. I am glad to have the chance to clarify the facts surrounding this issue and to detail the ways in which it is being addressed. The safety and security of public transport passengers and staff, including arrangements to deal with antisocial behaviour, are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Transport Policy (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I will make my views clear. I will do everything that I can to facilitate a solution to the difficulties which the Deputy quite rightly underlines and to see that staff and passengers are properly protected. I have given an update on what I have done. I will facilitate anything the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice and Equality feel is necessary in any way that I can. It is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Transport Policy (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I will not answer that question immediately but I will consider it. The views of the gardaí would have to be taken into account, as to whether they feel it is appropriate. Irish Rail has done a fair amount to address the problem, which it recognises. I welcome that Dermot O'Leary of the NBRU has been constantly pointing this out and representing staff and passengers in a laudable way....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Roads Maintenance Funding (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: The Deputy has asked the same question three times in a row.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Roads Maintenance Funding (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: He wants a different answer to each question which is somewhat demanding and a little unrealistic. He referred to the National Oversight and Audit Commission, which each year publishes a local authority performance indicator report. The report for 2018 was published two months ago, in September. The data in the report are sourced from the map road asset management system for regional and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: The Deputy is probably aware that there are three significant developments under way to expand capacity on the northern line. These are the expansion of the commuter rail fleet; the expansion of the DART fleet; and the electrification of the northern commuter line and its integration within the overall DART network. In recent weeks, Government approved the purchase of 41 additional intercity...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: I fully accept that there is overcrowding. That is absolutely undoubtedly true, not just in the Deputy's constituency but, as I have seen, at rush hour all around the greater Dublin area. The flipside of that is that public transport has become a great success. Publicly-owned transport, which would appeal to the Deputy, is working very well. It is correct that the numbers using it have...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: Maybe it is.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport Provision (21 Nov 2019)

Shane Ross: We are talking about rail. Improvements were made to peak-time services last year and to off peak-time services, to which the Deputy alluded, this year. There are two fundamental constraints. One is the need to physically expand the fleet through the purchase of additional carriages, while the second is the need to improve the overall management of the network. We are moving on both those...