Results 18,621-18,640 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I thank the Senators for their helpful and provocative contributions to this excellent debate. They have given everyone much food for thought through this valuable exercise. My view is simple. We face what Mr. Ted Heath called the "unacceptable face of capitalism". This is not a willing buyer and a willing seller negotiating a deal in any sense of the word. This is an imposition on ordinary...

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: Senator Dooley did not know what he was talking about when he spoke and he does not know now. I feel sorry for him as he was hung out to dry——

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: ——by his own people.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I will try but the Cathaoirleach should silence the rabble on the other side of the House.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I felt sorry for various elements of the other side of the House because they were hung out to dry. Let us live in the real world. Senator Morrissey suggested that we should get real and use Eazy Pass. That is nonsense.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: Eazy Pass is not the solution. I telephoned someone who uses Eazy Pass every day and was told that the queue is often so bad with Eazy Pass that it is better to join the cash queue. This is from someone who uses it daily——

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I spoke to someone who uses it daily and has more experience of it than Senator White. Let us get real about this. What has emerged from the Government side of the House are obfuscation, excuses and difficulties. I commend the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Callely, because when the price increase was announced, he said it was not acceptable. He still believes that,...

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: Through the Chair, does the Minister of State still believe that?

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: The Minister of State stands over that statement, so we have an ally in him. We have, however, a difficulty with NTR——

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: The Minister does not have a vote and thank God, from his own point of view, because he would lose the party whip if he had. We have had some encouragement from the Minister today. He did not rule out the buy out. Those Senators on the other side of the House who jumped the gun by ruling it out should be careful. The buy out——

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: The buy out could take several forms. The Minister did not rule it out. What is more, those Senators who were not at the transport committee meeting today would not realise that the NRA representatives made it quite clear, through body language, that the buy out is on the table.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: The other matter I want to raise is the dispute about technology. The NRA said today that barrier free tolling could not be introduced until 2008 at the earliest, if not 2009. The Minister has directly contradicted that and said it is not acceptable. I side with the Minister on this and commend the motion.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: Hear, hear.

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I move: That Seanad Éireann calls on the Government to take urgent measures to open the West Link Toll Bridge on Dublin's M50 motorway. We are here to discuss the issue of the West Link toll bridge. This motion calls on the Government to take urgent measures to ensure that the West Link toll bridge is opened as soon as possible to alleviate the traffic problems on that stretch of the M50. It...

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: I am coming to my penultimate point——

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: ——namely, that Mr. Flynn and Mr. Redmond signed the deal renders it controversial and that is why it should be re-examined. The price the Government paid is continued unpopularity and, more seriously, the recent loss of a by-election. It is no coincidence that Deputy Catherine Murphy, the Independent candidate, won the by-election in County Kildare. Deputy Catherine Murphy, according to...

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: Why then does the Minister want to open the toll plaza?

Seanad: West Link Toll Bridge: Motion. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: That is what the NRA stated at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport today.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: On a point of order, the Leader is being denominational.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2005)

Shane Ross: We do not need confession.