Results 12,021-12,040 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Priority Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: I can understand what Deputy Troy is saying but I reject what he says about there being no strategy at all. Within the constraints there are some very heavy projects and commitments. Not all of them can be delivered immediately because of financial constraints, but there are some very imaginative projects that will be. I do not know if the Deputy wants to scrap the metro north - maybe...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​I thank the Deputy for her question. I am not familiar with the exact situation she is referring to, but I have learnt a fair amount about it in the past 24 hours and I am grateful to the Deputy for pointing the situation out. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding of the national roads programme. The planning, design...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: I am impressed with what the Deputy says, but I think this may be a double-edged sword. As so often happens in this House, the Deputy is asking me to do things I am not empowered to do. I will meet the TII very shortly. I cannot remember the date; it is either in the next week or two or in August. If the Deputy gives me a briefing on this I will give it to the TII at that meeting. I am...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: I am not going to invite a delegation to see the town at this stage, but, as I said, I will put the case the Deputy has made, see what the TII has to say about it, and inform the Deputy of the result, because I think that is important. If the tolls were simply to be removed from the interchange, it might be expected to create a diversion from the M1 at this junction, attracting other traffic...

Priority Questions: Road Tolls (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​I thank the Deputy for his question. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. The planning, design and operation of individual road projects is a matter for TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Furthermore, the statutory power to levy...

Priority Questions: Tourism Industry (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: Tourism Ireland and my Department are determined to get the message out that it is business as usual in the new situation. I am not suggesting that we should be complacent, but the Deputy should remember that it is not all bad news. We will obviously be looking for new markets but the exchange rate only affects our relationship in this way with Britain at the moment. Those British people...

Priority Questions: Tourism Industry (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: It must be remembered that although Great Britain accounts for 41% of the tourists who visit here, it only accounts for 23% of revenue spent here.

Priority Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: This question is similar to one asked by Deputy Troy previously, but then I believe it was specific to the M50, which is only part of the traffic congestion problem. I am grateful to Deputy Troy for addressing the matter in a wider form. Increasing capacity in our public transport system and improving the quality of public transport services is key to addressing congestion in the greater...

Priority Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: It is very easy for Deputy Troy to say that while sitting there with a blank chequebook. The restrictions are not in terms of strategy or vision; they are because of the shortage of money for many years, as the Deputy is aware. The strategy is quite clear and I would have thought it was very obvious. There is very definitely a strategy behind this, which is the strategy of taking cars off...

Priority Questions: Road Safety (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: I thank the Deputy. She will see from my reply that I share her sense of urgency. This matter was not covered by the Road Traffic Bill when it was dealt with in the Seanad originally. The drafting and legal problems to which I referred and the complexities that were discovered in the solution pertaining to the Road Safety Authority were immediately addressed. The amendments are being...

Priority Questions: Road Safety (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: I ask the Deputy to accept my bona fides in this matter. The moment I discovered the urgency of this problem, which was due to what I saw on "Prime Time", I addressed it. I asked my Department to have legislation drafted and to hurry it up. That was done. It was not going to be ready at any stage by the end of July but it will be slotted into a Bill that is ready to come to the House in a...

Priority Questions: Tourism Industry (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​​Great Britain has consistently been Ireland's most important source market for visits to Ireland, with just over 3.5 million visits in 2015. This represented 41% of our total overseas visits. CSO figures for the period January to May 2016 show further strong performance from this market, with growth in visit numbers of over 15.7% when compared with the...

Priority Questions: Tourism Industry (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: Tourism Ireland decided to hold a review the moment the result of the Brexit referendum was known. That was a review to discuss and decide how to target new and developing tourist markets. The terms of reference for this review are being finalised now. It must be remembered that the referendum was only a couple of weeks ago, and it would be crazy to have a knee-jerk reaction. The new...

Priority Questions: Road Safety (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: On a point of order, has the first question lapsed?

Priority Questions: Road Safety (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: The Road Safety Strategy 2013-20 includes a review of the existing legislation to control the re-introduction of written-off vehicles which are no longer suitable for use on public roads and to control the repair and re-use of vehicles written off for financial purposes. The Road Safety Authority, RSA, carried out a public consultation on the issue, following which draft provisions were...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Haulage Industry Regulation (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​The derogation permitting a maximum weight laden limit of 42 tonnes for 2 axle tractor units towing 3 axle semi-trailers expired on 30 June last. Under the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 2003 (SI. No. 5 of 2003), the upper weight limit for these vehicles was set at 40 tonnes with an initial derogation in these Regulations permitting such vehicles...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Ministerial Meetings (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​I am formally meeting with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Road Safety Authority on Monday 25 July 2016.  I have of course met her already at the launch of the RSA's June Bank Holiday Road Safety Campaign  at which the recent RSA report on Alcohol as a Factor in Fatal Collisions, 2008 to 2012, where we informally discussed the implications of...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Health and Safety Inspections (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​I have not received any offer of the kind referred to by the Deputy.  Moreover, the statutory responsibility for carrying out health and safety inspections on fishing vessels, to the extent that they are places of work, lies with the Health and Safety Authority, which is under the aegis of my Colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Policy (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: The greatest potential for increasing the numbers of people cycling is by improving the cycling experience and a key element of this is direct investment in the provision of safer cycle routes. In this regard, the Government is making significant investment in cycling infrastructure​.   Safe cycle routes have been delivered in a number of towns...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Schemes (19 Jul 2016)

Shane Ross: ​The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993.  Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants.  The initial selection and prioritisation of...