Results 1,101-1,120 of 3,699 for speaker:Michael Lowry

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: On the final point made there by the Senator, what is the position with South Africa? I have had many inquiries and industries are short of drivers. There are drivers available in the country from South Africa but they cannot go on the road. What is the issue with the South African drivers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: The time factor in this instance is significant, from the moment the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is notified, the paperwork involved, when the drivers arrive here, and then to get the exchange done. This is taking inordinate time with the result that many employers in Ireland have been discouraged from taking on South Africans. The issue is that they are available and we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Effectively, they are here at that stage and the employer has to pay them, but they are not productive. It is a costly exercise while they the wait is on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: I appreciate that. Like my colleagues, I also want to mention the fact that there is a problem in the car rental sector and car providers that must be examined. I will not rehash it, but previous speakers outlined the difficulties in the sector. I got a letter from one of those companies and I got a response from the RSA to it. The response from the RSA effectively said: this is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: It is obviously at the discretion of the garda involved and what I find is that it is not being equally applied. We have cases where people have not had an NCT test, through no fault of their own, and are getting penalty points and fines. I presume from what Mr. Waide says, that every garda has access to the database and he or she can see the status of an NCT applicant who is being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Do they have information on the status of an individual?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: That is the point I am making.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: So it is not on the system. We hear reports and it comes up on our news reel that gardaí came across people with no NCT tests at a checkpoint. What I am asking is if the data system is up to date to the extent that the garda can put the number into his PULSE system and check in the RSA's system whether an application is pending and if the person is to be fined or to get three penalty...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: It is important to do so. In response to my question it was said that a person can prove to a garda that he or she has submitted an application. That means a person must take the time to get their documentation and bring it to a Garda station, and a garda will use up time looking at that documentation. Gardaí can check whether a vehicle is taxed by simply putting in the registration...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: I do not consider poor tyres a minor matter. Tyre safety is a fundamentally important matter. How many repeat tests are caused by the discovery of, for example, a cracked tail light or something very small? If there is more flexibility with the testing system does it free up other slots for cars? In other words, does flexibility improve the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: That is a huge issue when 40% of capacity is taken up with retesting. There must be some way to educate the public and ensure that they arrive with a vehicle in the condition required to pass an NCT. Mr. Walsh has said that people undertake an NCT to get a free diagnosis and retest when the repairs have been made which is a scenario that chokes the system.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Please excuse my ignorance about lanes in NCT centres. So there are 49 NCT centres.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Do some centres perform better than others in terms of throughput?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: That is a vital piece of work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Earlier Senator Horkan asked for a solution and wondered whether it was new centres, new lanes or additional testers. I think that the first priority in any business is to maximise potential and productivity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: Before seeking increased capacity, which will probably be required, the RSA needs proof. If I were sat on the other side of the desk when the RSA sought "X" amount of money to increase capacity then the first thing that I would ask is whether the RSA has utilised and maximised its existing capacity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Engagement with Road Safety Authority (12 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: From what Mr. Walsh has said I believe that he might have a feeling that it is not. I believe that capacity needs to be examined thoroughly in order to get an accurate result.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Heritage Sites (11 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: 291. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 4 October 2022, the engagements that he has had concerning the OPW's engagements with the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage, Kilmainham Gaol and the National Graves Association on plans to move the remains of the Invincibles from the grounds of Kilmainham Gaol; and if he...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (11 Oct 2022)

Michael Lowry: 443. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 185 of 5 October 2022, the reason that a school (details supplied) cannot get a broadband connection given that it can be serviced with a full fibre connection with speeds up to 2Gbps, super-fast broadband from commercial operators; the measures that are being taken to alleviate the obstacles to have this...