Results 1,661-1,680 of 28,190 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: No, I do not intend to put that in for 2026 at this stage. This is a question that came up last night where I gave an update in the Dáil, which was, for the advice of members, that we have started the work in relation to what that transport security force would look like. It will be operated under the NTA. It is expected to be rolled out in the greater Dublin area first and expanded...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Looking at the existing human resources that are in place right now, there may be an option for some of those officers to transfer into a transport security force once it is established. There are options like that, which I am looking at to see whether that can accelerate the operation of it. We want to get it right. It is there to support An Garda Síochána. It will have...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I have them and I can give the exact details, but I will give the run-through of what I said last night. We are looking at phase 2 as a further expansion of that, which runs into summer 2028, and the third phase is after that. This is the piece I am not absolutely content with myself, to be very honest, and that is the piece that I want worked out. Obviously, how we roll it out will be...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I know but, come on, I am here since the end of January. There were people who were here before me as well but the good thing is, and in fairness the previous Government and in fairness to my predecessor, the contract was entered into, the capital was secured and the work is under way. I would, if at all possible, like to see it done sooner. I cannot predict how the first roll-out phase...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We are still in the negotiating process, and the Deputy has been through this as well as a Minister. I am not going to say in front of the committee what is the upper level of what we looked at. Suffice to say we are having good, positive, constructive and robust discussions with our colleagues in the Department of public expenditure, but they are going well. We will be allocated an...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I will deal first with the issue of active travel and I thank the Deputy for raising this. There is broad support for it. To take 2024 as an example, we spent more than was allocated. As the projects come through, we can move money within the Votes. The delivery has been excellent. The baseline that we have committed to in the programme for Government is €360 million per annum, so...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The national plan is up to 2030 and we will see it rolled out on a phased basis throughout that period. We have work to do, unquestionably, but I would contest that in the last couple of years in particular, we have seen a significant increase in charging facilities. We have other things to deal with as well, including the charging issues for terraced houses and multi-unit developments.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We have published that in the national plan insofar as there is a phased roll-out between now and 2030. If the Deputy is asking me whether I have a target for when I am going to reach 13 per 10,000, I do not have that here in front of me but I will supply it to the Deputy. The Deputy raised the matter of grants for rural dwellers, rightly so. I am assessing options with regard to EV...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes, I am.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I do not have it with me but I will hopefully have that information for the Deputy before the end of the session.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The end of quarter 2 is near. I do not know but I will find out and let the Deputy know during the course of this committee hearing. We are checking that now. I will come back to the Deputy.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We have a job of work to do there. To go back to the original question, we have entered into contracts on PPP and we are committed to those contracts. An example is the monitoring of our motorway network at both the Jack Lynch tunnel and the Dublin Port tunnel, where I recently visited the centre. There is an upgrade of all of our cameras and monitoring right the way across the motorway...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I am.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I have worked with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on the national disability strategy and our Department has made a detailed submission to that. I have also met with disability public transport users, who are a very important part of our stakeholder forum. If someone has a disability, it should not be any different for him or her to access public transport. Regarding the physical fleet we...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: That will be part of the budgetary process. The key drivers in passenger numbers are availability, reliability and frequency. Our fares compare favourably with many of our peer countries. People can see the road of travel we are taking with the expansion of free travel for five- to eight-year-olds and companion travel for seniors with free travel and others who have it. We are allowing...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I visited Foynes and saw the rail line. In Adare where the bypass work is happening, people can get a really good look at the rail line. The trains are being commissioned. It is a great piece of work by Iarnród Éireann. It has been an exemplar of how these projects can be delivered on time and on budget. The company has the expertise. Part of the all-Ireland rail review will...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The NDP is tied into that as well. I cannot give the Deputy a timeframe regarding Sligo. We have to get the Limerick-Foynes line up and running. That will be welcomed. I will have an answer for the Deputy on Killarney before this session concludes and send that to him.

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: We will and we are. The Deputy is right to highlight the deficits. There is an infrastructural deficit in many areas of the country. It is acute in the west and north west. If we look at the north west further north than the Deputy's constituency, I am very disappointed about the decision on the A5 this week because the Government had committed to supporting our colleagues in the North...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The all-Ireland rail review recommended the reinstatement of the Athenry to Claremorris section. My focus and that of the Ministers of State, Deputies Canney and Buttimer, is on taking forward the recommendation from the review around. We are working on that with the European Investment Bank and other funding mechanisms to supplement the NDP. Ultimately, the NDP review provide those...

Select Committee on Transport: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 31 - Transport (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I am just coming to it now.