Results 281-300 of 1,023,838 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:David Stanton OR speaker:Sorca Clarke) in 'Committee meetings'

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

Brendan Smith: I again appeal to the Minister to give particular consideration to the request of councils like those of Cavan and Monaghan. As he will know from the officials and from our councillors, the councils do a very good job but we have very serious problems at the minute. The incessant rainfall of the past few years, the increased cost of energy and the resultant increase in the cost of...

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

Eamon Ryan: I assure the Deputy that we will do everything we can. In honesty, the budget available to us is limited but we will try to reallocate any funding we can garner from other areas. The Deputy is right about the increase in costs. The increase in the cost of bitumen and other materials was very significant. It gives us a certain hope that those inflationary impacts are starting to reduce....

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

Questions Nos. 70 to 72, inclusive, taken with Written Answers.

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

Rail Network

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

Éamon Ó Cuív: 73. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has received a detailed update from Iarnród Éireann on the condition of the railway line from Collooney to Athenry, covering issues such as the integrity of the permanent way in terms of embankments, bridges, culverts and growth along the line, lack of encroachment and so on; whether there is any significant...

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

Éamon Ó Cuív: Did Iarnród Éireann do a survey on the line from Collooney to Athenry? Did it find any difference in the condition of the line north of Claremorris compared with the line south of Claremorris?

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

Eamon Ryan: I do not have an answer to the Deputy's question as to the survey work that was done. There are sections on the line from Claremorris to Athenry that will require some reasonably significant civil works. For example, roads have been built across the line in the intervening period. However, these issues can be overcome. I cannot recall the exact period in which the section from Claremorris...

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

Éamon Ó Cuív: It is not the case. The rail report-----

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

Eamon Ryan: If that is not the case, it is all the better for us if we are to deliver a greenway on the line. The benefit of this is that it would preserve the line in public ownership. It is not included in the strategic rail review and the introduction of a greenway would not be hindered. If held in public ownership into the future, that line provides a potentially very beneficial future asset....

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

Éamon Ó Cuív: It was not included on the false premise that the line did not exist.

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

Eamon Ryan: I do not believe that only the quality of the line was considered. There are so many different investment requirements that there has to be some prioritisation. 12 o’clock If the line is, as the Deputy said, still intact and in public ownership, that would help and for it to be maintained in that way is the first priority.

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

Bus Éireann

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: 65. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide on update on what engagement his Department has had with Bus Éireann to address the impact of the shortage of drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22022/24]

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Will the Minister provide an update on what engagement his Department has had with Bus Éireann to address the impact of the shortage of drivers on the service?

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

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Deputy for highlighting one of the biggest ongoing challenges facing the public transport sector. I confirm that my Department continues to engage extensively with the NTA and operators on this issue. Unfortunately, it is the case that many operators, both public and private, continue to experience difficulties in recruiting new drivers. In its attempts to attract new...

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I was in the training centre in Cork last year. It was very impressive to see the plans there. It is to be hoped that these will bear fruit in producing extra drivers to fill those vacancies. I read an article earlier this month in which Bus Éireann CEO Stephen Kent said that approximately 2,000 extra drivers were required. I assume that is building on the future improvements with...

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)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I use the train service regularly in Cork, more so than buses. The difficulty I see lying ahead for us is that while trains turn up on time and always arrive, the same surety is not there for people when it comes to using their local bus service. For the 214 bus in Glanmire, in particular, and the 208 in Mayfield, the impact of BusConnects will be transformative for the city. It will be...

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

Ruairi Ó Murchú: I will bring up a similar issue. It is not only the lack of bus drivers. Sometimes, it is the issue of the number of buses and the state of some of them. Yesterday, there were five cancellations of the 100X expressway, which is the Dundalk to Dublin bus. It is the bus that goes to the airport so it can be imagined how much of a disaster cancellations are for people trying to avoid...

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...