Results 1-20 of 9,703 for at speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Road Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: That is true but there was an increase in the budget. Last year, Cavan got a budget of €18.14 million, an increase of €629,000 on the previous year. Monaghan got some €17 million, an increase of €834,000 on the previous year. I have met the officials and engineers in the county councils in Monaghan and Cavan and they do a very good job. They are highly...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Éireann (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I will make a wider point that Bus Éireann has a real challenge, as all our bus companies do, in getting drivers. This is across public and private services in every part of the country. Bus Éireann, however, is proving to be incredibly successful at present. I remember meeting Mr. Kent a year or two ago, when he said we might get up to 100 million passenger journeys last year....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Éireann (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan. I will add that it is not just about a driver shortage. We are also short of mechanics. In Cork, there are ten or 12 vacancies in mechanic positions at present. If the bus is not maintained, then it cannot run. Irish passengers value and are attracted to their bus services. Passenger numbers on Bus Éireann PSO services went up by 27% last year. That...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Éireann (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We will look at that in detail.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Development (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I will give the Deputy one example, because she talks about big projects. From memory, the Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge road, not by act of nature, is a single carriageway of approximately 35 km. It is costing the guts of half a billion euro and pretty much a doubling of the previous contract, which, unfortunately, was not able to be concluded because the contractor went out of business. If...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Park-and-Ride Facilities (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The NTA is leading the development and roll-out of strategic park and ride nationwide through its park and ride development office. The NTA established the park and ride development office in February 2020 and it has been included in the climate action plan since 2019. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Park-and-Ride Facilities (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I will go into some of the detail that I have been informed of by the NTA on those three sites. First, in regard to the N6 at junction 19, a 550-space site, the site selection process has led to two emerging site options at this junction. It looks now likely that a compulsory purchase order may be required irrespective of which site is selected. Following a finalisation of the site...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Park-and-Ride Facilities (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I am sorry about this. I will finish, if I can. On site 3, the one the Deputy specifically asks about, the discussions are ongoing with Galway City Council in relation to a potential site along the Cappagh Road on the western side of the city. It is understood that lands in public ownership may be available in the vicinity of this location. Discussions are advancing to investigate the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Park-and-Ride Facilities (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: First, I agree with the Deputy. I have a concern that the waiting for a Galway outer bypass may have seen the authorities not put push the delivery of the public transport and active travel solutions which, I believe, will be critical to turning around Galway's transport difficulties and providing a system that works. The site the Deputy mentions in the west is, to my mind, a particular...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: ...of the line to Collooney. I believe in those contexts it is better to keep the line as a greenway. This is a 30-year investment timeline. To answer Deputy Ó Cuív's question about the inflation aspect, we must think about this over a 30-year period. The cost is roughly €1 billion a year over that period. In that regard, inflation has been acute in the past two to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Development (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to improving transport infrastructure throughout the country, but most especially in the northern and western region. That commitment is evidenced by actual delivery of projects on the ground. The index referred to by the Deputy measures a much wider range of indicators than just infrastructure and, on the basis of the complete index,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I do not have the details of that stop, so I will have to come back to the Deputy directly on that. I do not have information about the plans for that stop. On the wider issue the Deputy raised about enhancing the ability to get drivers and mechanics, I am open to all initiatives and suggestions. Bus Éireann has looked at a variety of different ways. We have looked at moving some of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It will be available to the Deputy in written format in any case. If I can answer his question directly, the strategic rail review has been very public for over a year and a half. We had to go to a strategic environmental assessment. We decided that, in advance of the Assembly returning in the North, we would publish it because we had to go into that public consultation, so the details are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I am very aware of the ongoing issues with the 103 Bus Éireann service in Meath, which was particularly bad in September and October last year, and the negative impact that was having on the travelling public. Unfortunately, these issues were exacerbated by ongoing challenges the public transport sector is facing in the recruitment of both mechanics and drivers. However, I am pleased...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I agree with the Deputy. It is not acceptable for passengers to be left waiting at the side of the road for the next bus. That is deeply frustrating, and it is not good enough. We have to make sure, through the NTA, that Bus Éireann is pushed so that the services improve. There are various ways we can do that. As I said, the first key issue is with mechanics and drivers. There has...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I have been clear in my position for the past two years and particularly since the publication of the review. It does not include the extension of the rail corridor from Claremorris north east towards Sligo. That makes a strong case for the use of that line as a greenway, as the Deputy suggested, and the benefit of that is we would be able to hold a line so that, if at some future date it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Policy (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy will be aware, the national planning framework calls for enhanced land-side access to Dublin Airport, particularly in public transport terms. I also note that the local authority’s local area plan for the airport requires that any planning application to increase passenger numbers at the airport must clearly demonstrate the transport infrastructure and measures required...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Airport Policy (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: ...This is a 10% increase on the bus services available last year. As the Deputy said, we have further bus improvements planned. There has also been a 20% increase in the number of taxi permits operating at the airport. The vast majority of passengers using taxis are able to get one within ten minutes. There are 23,000 car parking spaces at Dublin Airport. The Deputy is correct, though,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: As I am sure the Deputy will be aware, the all-island strategic rail review has been undertaken by my Department in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The review will inform the development of rail on the island of Ireland in the coming decades to 2050, in line with net-zero carbon targets in both jurisdictions. Work on the review is now at an advanced...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy may be aware, the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy has been developed to deliver an accessible, integrated transport network that enables the sustainable growth of Cork up to 2040, including the rail system in the area. Good progress has been made in delivering key projects within the Strategy, including the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme. This Programme represents...