Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which he continues to have discussions with his EU colleagues with a view to ensuring that transport costs here are competitive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52462/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Cost competitiveness is a key consideration for Ireland as an open export-oriented economy and transport is one of the many factors influencing that competitiveness.

The Government's plans to improve competitiveness are set out in the Programme

for Government and place a heavy emphasis on the delivery of effective transport services.  

While not specifically an item on the agenda of recent EU Transport Councils, transport costs and competitiveness are an important underlying premise to ongoing discussions with my EU counterparts.