Results 141-160 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Taoiseach is not here.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Thanks.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. I welcome the publication of the Climate Change Advisory Council's annual sectoral review of the transport sector. I recently met with the council and, separately, with its chair, Marie Donnelly. We had a very constructive discussion. My Department and I will be reviewing this report and its recommendations. I certainly will take them into account as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I said last week that I am reviewing the EV grants. We have made significant progress. The Deputy referred to the reduction in growth in that sector last year but he did not mention that quarter 1 of this year saw a significant rebound in EV sales and registrations. Today, I brought to Government a policy on renewable fuels for transport, which sets out the ambition in this regard. It...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Action Plan (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We are trying to cover a lot in a short time. We will have a chance to go through a lot of these points in more detail at the transport committee, which is meeting tomorrow, and at the environment committee. Regarding EV charging, under the motorway infrastructure scheme, 131 additional high-powered charging points across 17 different locations on the motorway network will be delivered...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question on what is a real and important issue for public transport users. We debated it in some detail yesterday. Particularly among those who do not use public transport often, they can have a certain perception of the level of safety on it. To the Deputy's specific question, antisocial behaviour is a broad societal issue to which public transport is not...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Thank you, Deputy Byrne, for your question. At the outset, it is important to distinguish between publicly subvented services, which operate under contract with the National Transport Authority, and commercial services , which are operated under licence from the NTA and do not receive State subvention. The latter are primarily run by private operators; however, Bus Éireann also operates...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As the Deputy may be aware, the Preliminary Business Case for the DART+ Programme was approved by the Government at Decision Gate 1 of the Public Spending Code in December 2021. This decision permitted the purchase of new DART trains from Alstom, comprising 65 battery-electric and 30 electric carriages. Battery-electric trains from this first fleet order started arriving into Ireland in...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, my role involves setting public transport policy and overseeing overall funding. However, I am not involved in day-to-day operations. The statutory responsibility for delivering and managing public transport services, including the publication and maintenance of network maps, rests with the National Transport Authority (NTA). I have been informed by the NTA that...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including, in consultation with Iarnród Éireann, the Oranmore Station Redevelopment and Track Works. The recent planning approval granted...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Phase 3 of the ZEVI-TII EV Recharging Infrastructure LDV National Road Grant Scheme, which was launched February this year, follows on from Phase 1 which supports high-power charging on motorways, and Phase 2 which focuses on national single carriageway roads. This third scheme will focus on approximately 3,000km of the remaining primary and secondary roads on the National Road Network...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Greenways Provision (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways. There has a significant amount of investment for Greenway schemes in County Kerry with €8,250,000 allocated in 2025. In line with Section 32 (2) of the Roads Act 1993, the planning, design, and construction of individual Greenways is a matter for Transport...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Policy (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As the Deputy may be aware, the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) was developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in collaboration with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Cork City Council and Cork County Council. The strategy sets out a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the Cork Metropolitan Area up to 2040. A...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Policy (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 137 together. The National Transport Authority (NTA), in conjunction with Galway City Council and Galway County Council, is developing the Galway Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (GMATS). This strategy will replace the existing Galway Transport Strategy adopted in 2016 and will provide a long-term strategic planning framework for the delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government is committed to increasing the uptake of EVs as evidenced in the ambitious targets set in the Climate Action Plan. Over €100m has been allocated in 2025 to support the continued transition to electric vehicles which includes funding for EV grants and EV charging infrastructure. There is a suite of incentives in place from ZEVI, and where applicable with support...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Policy (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy’s question relates to the 2025 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to ‘develop a new Sustainable Mobility Action Plan which promotes sustainable modes and transport-oriented development to address congestion, improve air quality and reduce noise, and enhance attractiveness and accessibility of cities, neighbourhoods and town centres’. The new plan,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Transport (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Anti-social behaviour is a broad societal issue, to which public transport is unfortunately not immune, and it is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network. There is a strong commitment under the Programme for Government to create a Transport...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Therefore, matters relating to the day to day operations regarding...