Results 12,701-12,720 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: They are not separate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I will come back to the question of which we should do first. We should invest in this-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: There is a limited amount in the budget. We have €35 billion but when we look at all the projects and add them up, it is not a bottomless pit. We could even double that €35 million for the projects for 2040. We had a €75 billion ask when we went into the national development plan and that is just for existing projects. That is before we consider the Waterford-Limerick...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I will be interested in reading what the strategic rail review says on this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree and I will tell the Deputy one thing that will happen in five years' time, as sure as eggs are eggs. Further investment in public transport will be accentuated because of the urgency and need to meet our climate targets in transport, which will be the hardest to achieve. It will drive further investment into public transport as the solution to that issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy raised a few different issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: If I may have a little time, I will go full steam at all of them. I will give one example of a regret, or perhaps where NIFTI would have been useful. I will go right back to when I was involved in the Dublin transportation advisory committee in the mid-1990s. I was very involved in the development of the Platform for Change plan, which was really the best plan, one which we rooted in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: On active travel, the Deputy is absolutely right. We need a national network. A company called Sustrans was involved initially in delivering the UK model and developed a national cycle network. Such networks work for a variety of different reasons, particularly in relation to tourism. We can sell Ireland abroad as a place to come and cycle or walk, activities which are hugely popular and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The cost of living is a big issue at the moment, so I am pushing to do it as quickly as possible. It will be a couple of months because we have to update all the systems, but we are on track to deliver it according to the timeframe set out. I do not have the details on the Boyne greenway but I will have a look at it. I would be interested in getting Deputy O'Rourke's views on the extension...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: We must be careful here in that we must provide good quality greenways, but we also have a very extensive network to build. What I am saying to TII is that we must be careful we do not over-engineer. We learnt during Covid that we could do things very quickly. The critical political decision is for there to be a good surface and to provide the space. Does it have to be the mother of all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy is a very good railway engineer with specialist knowledge in signalling and systems and so I listened with real intent. I would love to know his views on what we do with the Wexford line. It is a stunning rail line. It passes through Avoca and Rathdrum and is probably one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world. Do we use it effectively? I come back to asking this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy that we need to make public transport cheaper. It is a difficult balancing act because there is a whole variety of ways in which we need to make it cheaper. As I mentioned earlier, the Connecting Ireland new public transport service for rural Ireland is a hugely progressive development. That needs new money and additional public service obligation, PSO, subvention....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Taking Clare for example, I agree with what was said about the bus service. We need rail and it is important, but I recall some years ago Ennistymon was served by just one or two buses a day. I agree about the costs, and the ability for us to double or triple that, and then the response when there is a reliable service is transformational. There are incredible towns and beautiful villages...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I referred to this earlier. As Deputy Matthews stated, we could build stations on existing lines relatively cheaply. Irish Rail has project plans it could take off the shelf that are not hugely expensive. I would start with Moyross in the next three years and then build out from there. We can do it and the council can help by doing the planning around it with the Land Development Agency...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: I hope the Chairman will not mind if Senator Horkan and I go very local. I am a constituent of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where he was formerly a councillor. We have a long history. The Clonskeagh Road is very familiar to me. I live off it. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has done the best in terms of advancing new active travel. It is very difficult. The proposal for Deansgrange is very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: It has been recommended that it be a one-way road. As we all know, the current patterns on the road are atrociously inappropriate. The use of the road is not good for anyone. It is not safe or easy to navigate. Could we decide, on that road, to take that space? That would change how we use Clonskeagh Road. That is a local government political decision. These are difficult political...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland: Discussion (26 Jan 2022)

Eamon Ryan: Very briefly, we should be making those brave decisions now. The public will respond with a massive increase in the number of people using the system in a sustainable way, which would prove that this is a traffic system for everyone. The Senator referred to the morning news about the Drummartin Link Road. That will happen everywhere unless we act fast to make sure that we do not just...