Results 521-540 of 1,050,756 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh OR speaker:Alan Farrell OR speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire OR speaker:Eamon Ryan)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: I thank Dr. Walsh for that. The reason I mentioned it is that we had Mr. Mulvey in with regard to his ongoing membership of the board of An Post. We were having a conversation about viability, IT literacy and stuff like that. It occurred to me that it is part of that conversation. I thank Dr. Walsh for that information. Before I pass on to Senator Craughwell, I ask the Minister to go...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Sorry, I should have answered that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: There was another question but we will go with that one. I had another but I have forgotten it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Both the grants for new electric vehicles and home charging are largely demand-led and, therefore, it is not something we have complete control over. As I said, the figures showed slightly below what was expected but that is a function of the household decision, rather than any policy choice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: I thank the Minister. In fairness, I will hand over to Senator Craughwell.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Senator Craughwell for his very kind words. I would like to have achieved a hell of a lot more but I very much appreciate what he said. I always felt the Senator and I had a very good relationship even though we may have differed on a variety of issues. I always enjoyed my engagement with him both at the committee and around the Houses. Where we did differ most was on the search...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: I will interrupt the Minister for a moment. We had the Estimates yesterday with the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless. This might be helpful to the Senator who, of course, was not present because it was a meeting of the select committee. Mr. Doocey, if I recall correctly, and the Minister of State mentioned that there was provision within the contract with Bristow to provide SAR and that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Exactly. It was from that desire to see the Air Corps take on some of that role that we put a break clause into the contract after three years, I think, to allow for that possibility. That is one example. On rigour, safety is the first priority in aviation and there are so many layers. I do not have details. The Senator said the aircraft being provided for the top cover was 12 years old...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: I will ask for clarity on that for the benefit of people watching. By top cover, is the Senator referring to fixed-wing aircraft or military aircraft?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: On the Coast Guard, I agree with the Senator that it is hugely important. I only realised this time in government how embedded the organisation is in communities right around our coast. I had the pleasure of visiting a number of our Coast Guard stations in the past four years. There have been difficulties in particular areas. While I agree with the Senator’s assessment, we have had...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: It is my specialist subject so be careful how you tread.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We should avoid anything that would return all those commuters to the roads. We are going to put the first battery-electric trains into Drogheda and run them south along the northern commuter line. It would hobble the commuter and Enterprise services to provide an airport link, particularly in the absence of all those capacity improvements. We have an alternative. The decision involves...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: That illustrates why the spur to the airport will not work. It is not just about the capacity the Minister mentioned or project 4 north, to four-track that line, which we are allegedly getting in the new year. If the Senator and I are both still here, that will make for a fascinating read. It is all about capacity. There have been so many conversations about metro on radio, as I am sure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: The point is that Luas is great to have but it will not work for the airport or Swords.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Alan Farrell: It does not have the capacity. The northern commuter line is already jammed, as we saw and the Minister alluded to. As I said, it is my specialist subject.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Deputy for his friendship as well. We have always got on well. We have disagreed sometimes on various issues, but I have always found him to be most respectful and collegial. On investment in transport, public transport and roads, maybe I will bring them together. I have a perspective looking forward, rather than back to 2023, that the country has never had a more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Senator. As he said, we have a long friendship through politics and beyond. I will go very local as a way of making a point. The Senator knows these roads very well as do I. If a person is coming from Goatstown, from the Goat Grill into town and is going down Goatstown Road on to Clonskeagh Road and then to Sandford Road and the junction by Eglinton Road. There are three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It was quite tight and narrow and you could not overtake. You would be at quite a high speed going into town, as it is downhill. There were many of those wands and bollards. I thought there was a lot going on and it was not ideal. We found that out and a lesson was learned from that. If we look at the section from the mosque down to Clonskeagh Bridge, that is the design that is going to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It is a nice surface. It is wide enough and a cyclist needs width. There are a couple of pinch points where they compromised too much but by and large, it is a very good-quality lane. It is comfortable and safe and not expensive, as it is a standard surface treatment. The third piece - and we need to go on into town and to do a lot more, more quickly - to go back, I was involved in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Public Service Performance Report 2023: Department of Transport (6 Nov 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It can only be a 9 m wide road. I remember speaking to the engineer and asking whether we could reduce it to one lane each. He said that was no problem. All we are doing with that is storing cars. They are not moving, which means there is no space for anything else. It completely killed the cycling capability. Cyclists had to go on the footpath, there was literally no space. What we...