Results 17,821-17,840 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Tolls (17 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport,  I have responsibility for overall policy in relation to roads.  The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects on national roads are a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the relevant local authority. For regional and local roads it is a matter for each respective...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Transport Services (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I raised that issue with officials who came back to me that there is an issue. While I do not have a final resolution, I will commit to come back again on this as a solution has to be found for the students in question. I agree with Deputy Paul Murphy on the importance of Local Link. I also believe in public transport and public service companies delivering it. However, that does not...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Services (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I set out the numbers in my earlier answer. There will be an additional 240 new buses, and 200 additional buses are planned for the Dublin region in the next three years. As regards Bus Éireann, those Expressway services are not yet due to be removed but that decision was made at the same time as additional drivers were being taken on by Bus Éireann. The company is expanding...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Services (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I do not have the detail on that matter but I will ask the Department to furnish it to the Deputy directly. We will provide additional buses but the key here is the BusConnects project because if we can deliver that, not just in Dublin but also in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, it will radically improve the service, as well as the conditions and lived experience of the drivers working...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Transport Services (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including management of the rural transport programme, which operates under the Local Link brand. From a policy perspective, there is a need for a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Services (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 42 together. As the Deputy said, there are ambitious plans to expand bus services in all our cities through implementation of BusConnects, which will see improved services, better infrastructure and larger bus fleets. This type of transformative change is needed and if we are serious about improving public transport, we need to be serious about our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with what the Deputy is saying about that route. There is the other main spine on the north side. Introducing a suburban rail service from Midleton right the way through to Mallow with eight stations also needs to be accelerated. It was in the plan but it was further out. These projects might need to come first and one of the benefits of coming first is that we get transport-led...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Yes. My father grew up on Victoria Road. I know Cork well. The Deputy is right about Togher, Douglas and that whole area. That is on the BusConnects route too. It is not just that east-west corridor that needs to be built. There are north-south corridors. It is central to the BusConnects plan in CMATS so it is not just that one route. North-South public transport corridors are needed...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I would like to see one that involves the NTA and not just the city council. I would like to see them working together. It is a good idea.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Did the Deputy mention cycling infrastructure at the end?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: My understanding was that the question was on-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I would include e-scooters and e-bikes in that, along with cycling. I know the Deputy has had an interest in promoting legislation on e-scooters. We intend to regulate e-scooters. In that regard, a road traffic (miscellaneous provisions) Bill is being developed in my Department in conjunction with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. That is due before the Dáil shortly. I hope...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I believe we have the correct structure in Dublin. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is the lead authority in designing and implementing the city transport strategy. An example of this is the BusConnects project. Its implementation will not be without difficulties. I was speaking to Deputy Lahart's constituency colleague, Deputy Duffy, last night in Rathfarnham. The Deputy will be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: The Deputy mentioned Colombia. One of my heroes is a former mayor in Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa, who transformed the city of Bogotá into a cycling and walking city. He is like something out of a Mario Vargas Llosa novel, a romantic. He has said that pavements are for kissing and that man and woman are to walking what fish are to swimming. He had a romantic vision of how cities...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Infrastructure Provision (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire. I absolutely agree with him. We mentioned Dublin earlier, but Cork also needs a sustainable transport system. The Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, CMATS, takes the right approach. It adopts a multi-modal approach to transport planning, provides the necessary evidence-based and plan-led framework and is an example of good long-term planning. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Light Rail Projects (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: Another issue that arises in looking at the totality of costs is that we really need to change our entire housing, planning and transport systems at the same time as we are doing these DART+ projects. I hope to do the same in Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick. We want to move towards transport-led development that would see new housing being built within a walk or short cycle of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Light Rail Projects (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy stated, DART+ represents the key current investment programme in commuter rail services in the greater Dublin area, and will likely be the largest ever investment in our rail network in the history of the State. It is important to set out what it will deliver. It will double the capacity of the network in the greater Dublin area; it will mean approximately 70% of all journeys...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Light Rail Projects (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: In the public consultation there have already been a number of submissions suggesting, as the Deputy has, the double tracking to Kilcock, and there may well be merit in that suggestion because it is a very large and growing town, with a large part of the population that commutes, and will still commute, even in post-Covid times. As the Deputy mentioned, a similar expansion of the section...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: As the House knows, the Covid-19 health emergency has had a profound impact on the public transport sector since March. We all recognise that the continued operation of the public transport sector is important, which is why it has been designated among the essential services that have carried on throughout the crisis. The Government is committed to ensuring that essential transport...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (12 Nov 2020)

Eamon Ryan: I agree that it needs to be called out. The behaviour during the recent protests on Luas journeys, to which I believe the Deputy is referring, was despicable. That is not what the Irish people represent. The vast majority are complying. It was an insult and an attack on the vast majority of Irish people on that Luas on that day. There are mechanisms that allow a public transport operator...