I expect to do so in the next couple of weeks. There will be no one happier than me to be able to do so. I do not believe that in the Department or, certainly, in the political system there is any reluctance or any desire for delay. I agree with the Deputy that we have to value, protect and provide for all our transport workers, especially as the ballot went through. We should honour the result. and I have every intention of doing so. We had to go through the public consultation process. It is very close to complet…

I am happy to give this reassurance. With regard to the issue that it is not in sight, it will be done in this quarter. It is in the absolute final stages. I would have preferred to have had it earlier but we have to go through the statutory process and get all of the regulatory measures in place. This has been pretty much completed. It will be signed I expect, unless there is something untoward or unexpected. It will be there. We do need to provide for these pensions and provide the increases that have been agreed…

Electric vehicles are the most prominent transport mitigation measure in the 2021 climate action plan. There is an ambitious target of 945,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030. This is challenging but indicates the scale of the transformation needed. I am acutely aware that the cost of electric vehicles remains an issue for many consumers and that supply chain issues globally have also proven difficult. These have been exacerbated by international events. For these reasons our policy measures are being kept un…

I will begin with the wider point. The supports did evolve, with regard to very expensive cars being excluded from the grant scheme. It will continue to evolve. As electric vehicles become much more commonplace we will need to look at targeted supports, consider the issue of social justice in how we do it and support the likes of the second-hand market. We are looking at measures to develop and promote the commercial fleet as a way of doing this because they tend to trickle down not in the trickle-down economics wa…

It is complicated and we must be careful not to create further inequality if the cars coming in are only for the very wealthy, for example. There is a wider global supply chain issue and the car supply process is currently broken for a variety of reasons, including the war in Ukraine and other factors. We are not seeing the usual delivery of either electric or other vehicles. In that context, the market for second-hand cars has experienced a sharp increase in prices. We must be sensitive and careful in looking at w…

Under the Roads Acts, 1993 to 2015, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned and, therefore, matters relating to the day-to-day operations regarding national roads, including toll roads and the establishment of a system of tolls, are within the remit of TII. More specifically, the statutory power to levy tolls, to make toll by-laws and to enter into agreements with private investors are vested…

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and I have spent much time in recent months trying to consider various measures to support or help the haulage sector. We will continue to do so at a difficult time. Included in this we examined whether we could remove the restrictions on the tunnel. The Deputy is correct that trucks do not pay tolls but we considered whether we could remove the barriers altogether so there would, in effect, be a free-flowing system. My recollection of discussing this matter in advance with c…

Every tunnel and road has different characteristics but this tunnel has its own characteristics. We lead all the trucks around the M50-----

No. In every way, we must look to improve air quality and traffic causes some of the pollutants that affect lung health. The effect tends to be more localised. This tunnel, access to the port and management of that port have certain characteristics that are required to be managed in an organised way. There are deep tunnels all over the world and each has different characteristics as to why they might need management. Having looked at this - having pressed and tried with all the will we could muster - the line came …

I will quite happily provide further background from my Department.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 126 together. As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding regarding the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national ro…

I am aware. I said that I looked, in real detail, at the project. There is significant housing development planned. There is controversy in that regard not just in respect of the housing development, but also in respect of retail developments in that area. We have to be careful here because it was the subject of a court decision. The national Planning Regulator has been very specific in raising certain concerns about the nature of some of the planning in this corridor, and how it might lead to further increase in t…

It is not that far away from it.

I know that.

I will go back to the point about not creating false promises. There is an issue in terms of the fact that we have a roads programme that is the length of one's arm and beyond, and a budget which, this decade, will not be able to deliver a fraction of it. That is before we look at the examples of these additional roads projects which are not at as advanced or developed stages as others. Therefore, it is difficult. If we were to give the false promise that we can provide all the housing and address all the issues, i…

I am.

That is why I was concerned. I apologised at the time.

My understanding is that a reply was sent.

I will have to go back and double-check that. I will continue to engage and, as I said, to look at those safety issues and look to see are there ways in which we can address some of them without necessarily having the full road scheme, which I do not believe would be able to get the budget within the constraints that I see ahead of us for the next ten years. Yes, we do want to address those safety issues and see if that can be done in an alternative way. I will go back and double-check but my understanding is that …

As I said, we are very clear that we are not saying that road will never proceed. However, it does have to be within an overall budget and Transport Infrastructure Ireland will have to assess how it will manage and deliver projects, so it has not completely gone to waste and it could well be used. My understanding of how this process works is that the CPO only comes in at the very later stages, when it gets through planning and through the various stages at Government, tendering and the other processes, and when th…