Results 61-80 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: That provision included an allocation for damage other than road damage and is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I will ask Deputy Gormley to communicate with the Deputy in that regard.

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I am not passing the buck.

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: Neither will I accept people who have local responsibility passing the buck to me. It is time people took responsibility. It is the responsibility of the local authorities to look after their local roads. By and large, they do that and do so reasonably well. I heard this rhetoric this time last year with regard to the roads. I heard fellows on the radio claiming it would take €1...

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I checked this at the time. Stories were circulating that money would not be spent. I checked the matter. Local authorities generally concentrate on completing the work up to late October or early November and then rush to get their claims in.

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I would prefer local authorities to get road works finished by the end of October, which is appropriate, and then rush to get claims in, than to have them wasting time submitting claims and not getting the work done, or doing it too late in the year. We must be fair to local authorities. They do a reasonably good job in this regard. I know there are difficulties. I will make the allocation...

Leaders' Questions (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: That was not nodding. That was shaking.

Leaders' Questions (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: Fianna Fáil meetings in backrooms are a lot less harmful.

State Airports (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: Having considered the value for money review of Exchequer expenditure on regional airports, the Government has agreed to support the continuation of a public service obligation, PSO, route between Donegal and Dublin airports and Kerry and Dublin airports. In line with the review, the Government has also agreed to cease requiring PSO routes between Dublin and Sligo, Knock, Galway and Derry...

State Airports (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I reject out of hand the Deputy's contention that I misled the House. In my reply, I outlined the various bodies and organisations that were consulted. To my knowledge, all of the regional airports made detailed submissions both to my officials and to me. I met a number of representatives from the regional airports in various places - including at the BMW regional assembly - and at...

State Airports (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: If the Deputy makes smart comments, he can expect smart responses in return. He will be aware that the current PSO contracts end in July. He will also be aware of the severe financial constraints under which the current Government is operating and under which its successor will be obliged to operate for the next three to four years. Decisions must be made and endless prevarication in...

Severe Weather Events (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I propose to take Question Nos. 54 and 57 together. The Government's emergency task force, under the auspices of the Department of Defence, is the framework around which national emergency responses are co-ordinated. Under the published emergency planning procedures, the national response to severe weather events is lead by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The...

Severe Weather Events (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: I acknowledge what the Deputy said in respect of front-line staff. I do not agree with him that the response to the severe weather in December was not much improved on what happened last January. As stated earlier, there were only 10,000 tonnes of salt in the country in January of last year. In December, supplies of some 50,000 tonnes were on hand. Those supplies were managed much better...

Severe Weather Events (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: The responsibility for local and county roads is a matter for the local authority, within its resources. The primary source of resources for gritting local and regional roads should be the local authorities but, unfortunately, it is not, as the taxpayer is the central source. However, the local authorities are the bodies which advise the NRA on the actual routes that are to be gritted, and...

Severe Weather Events (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: As I said, that is part of the review process. Following the incident this time last year, I had meetings with the IFA in regard to the possibility of enlisting its aid. While it has welcomed that, we need to move that process forward. The question of guidelines and plans is under review and, while there is a plan, it needs to be updated and improved. To be fair, if one considers what...

State Assets (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: The Deputy will be aware that part of the terms of reference of the review group on State assets and liabilities, chaired by Mr. Colm McCarthy, is to consider the potential for asset disposals in the public sector, including commercial State bodies such as the Dublin Airport Authority. When that review has been completed, I will consider any recommendations with regard to the Dublin Airport...

State Assets (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: To put the Deputy's comments in context, the airport charges at Dublin Airport are well below the average and, if I recall correctly, are probably one of the lowest sets of airport charges anywhere in Europe for an airport of its size. Therefore, I would not start from the premise that our airport charges are higher than elsewhere or that we are not in line with the rest of Europe. The...

State Assets (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: The Deputy is incorrect in assuming that the reason for the fall-off in passenger numbers is the increase in airport charges. The reduction in passenger numbers, as is the case with CIE and other public transport companies, has more to do with general economic activity and the very severe hit we have taken in the context of the international recession. People are travelling less because...

State Assets (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: With a 9% fall in economic activity last year, it is true that we have been more severely hit than other countries. I am not comparing airport charges at Dublin Airport to those at airports in large cities such as Paris; the figures to which I referred relate to capital city airports throughout Europe which are of comparable size, serve a similar population and so on. The reduction in...

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: The local government efficiency review group recommended the introduction of new tolling schemes on national roads, both new and existing, based on an equitable distribution of tolling points across the national network, with a proportion of revenue being used to invest in local and regional roads. The Infrastructure Investment Priorities 2010-2016 document also referred to the possible...

Road Network (18 Jan 2011)

Noel Dempsey: We have not yet published the report from the NRA because I have not completed my consideration of it and have not brought it to my Government colleagues for their information and consideration. On the second point, that is a matter for the NRA, which has direct responsibility in this regard. It is a contractual matter and not one in which I have a role.