I hear the Senator's concerns. I have had a great deal of engagement with Oireachtas Members. There has also been a large amount of consultation. I listened to the Senator's concerns regarding IALPA, which I met yesterday. Its voice and its amendments, which are being tabled here, have been well aired. I came to the Seanad today in good faith to discuss these amendments, which Senators are tabling as part of this deliberative Committee Stage. That is what I told IALPA I would do at our meeting last night. I will en…

I respect the decision and workings of the Seanad absolutely. It is important to say, however, there has been extensive engagement between me, IALPA, my Department, the regulator, Deputies and Senators. There have been more than ten different engagements since last year on this legislation. IALPA's proposed amendments have been tabled as part of the legislation, and I have come to the Seanad today to discuss the exact issues being raised. Again, if the Seanad wishes to defer its consideration today, I completely re…

I welcome this opportunity to discuss the next Coast Guard aviation contract and to clarify a number of matters raised by Members in the motion they have tabled. As has been stated by other colleagues, I am constrained by procurement law in publicly discussing matters relating to a live procurement process. For this reason, I will not be in a position today to disclose any information relating to the procurement specifications or anything that is commercially sensitive or integral to the process. In any event, info…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The safe routes to school programme is a programme I am rolling out across the country. We are investing €1 million per day in walking and cycling infrastructure throughout the country. This is enabling the schools to work directly with the local authorities and An Taisce on projects and measures specific to schools in specific areas. This is not only being rolled out to specific or urban areas, but also to our towns and villages. Earlier this week, on Monday, the Minister…

The current spike in energy prices arises principally from the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. It has implications across the economy. With regard to the impact on transport, the Government will continue to monitor impacts on trade and key supply chains as it has done through the challenges arising from Brexit and the pandemic. Road hauliers are currently supported in the cost of diesel through the diesel rebate scheme, introduced in 2013. In budget 2020, in recognition of the challenging environment th…

I am okay, thank you. I appreciate that, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. On the pandemic unemployment payment for small public service vehicle, SPSV, drivers, we all acknowledge how that industry has been hit during the pandemic. As many as 70% of them availed of the PUP at the height of the pandemic and, as the Deputy may be aware, the PUP has been reopened for a limited time to support people who lose their employment as a result of Covid. The self-employed SPSV operators can continue to claim the PUP and earn up to €96…

On the Minister, Deputy Ryan's engagement with the taxi industry, he has met representatives on several occasions, including representatives of several taxi unions twice. Last month, the Minister met a representative of the taxi dispatch operators. Other members of Government, including the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, have also met with taxi driver representatives. As I say, the self-employed operators can continue to claim the PUP and earn up to €960 in any given eight-week period, and the other supports that were…

The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network. The NTA works with the relevant public transport operators responsible for day-to-day operational issues to make public transport accessible. The Department of Transport and its agencies …

I assure the Deputy that my Department is actively engaging with the relevant agencies and Departments to strengthen the public transport offerings throughout the country by providing additional funding for increased public transport services. The Government has committed to using the research into the cost of disability to inform future policy direction, and the national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, steering group, chaired by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will consider actions requi…

I hear what the Deputy is saying. The NDIS steering group will be key in this area to ensure a whole-of-government approach. The NDIS sets out the overall framework for the equal participation of people with disabilities in society. It aims to improve the lives of people with disabilities and contains precise, measurable actions and timescales for delivery. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has overarching responsibility for the implementation of the NDIS. The strategy contains…

The programme for Government committed that €360 million in cross-Government funding will be spent on walking and cycling per annum over the lifetime of the Government. This investment will help support the delivery of almost 1,000 km of improved walking and cycling infrastructure by 2025, as well as additional investment in greenways. The total expenditure delivered on active travel through my Department in 2020 was €108 million, with €8.3 million also spent on greenways. This year, we have seen a significant incr…

The reason for the underspend is that it was the first year and staffing was an issue. I will give the statistics. As per the quarter 3 report from the NTA supplied to my Department, 92 new positions have been filled across local authorities out of a total of about 250 allowed. This includes staff in local authorities outside of the greater Dublin area and regional cities, where, until this year, there were no NTA-funded active travel staff in place. In the coming weeks, the NTA will provide its quarter 4 report on…

It is important to bear in mind the challenges this year in regard to Covid. The level 5 restrictions had an impact on the roll-out of greenways because those projects were not seen as essential projects during the level 5 restrictions, which meant any non-essential construction could not occur during those months. That has impacted on the roll-out of a number of those projects. All local authorities spent much of this year recruiting new staff after that formal authorisation was given to them in March to recruit N…

I am delighted to see the new BusConnects Dublin network being rolled out. I agree with the Deputy that it is important that people have an opportunity to give feedback and their thoughts on its roll-out. It is great to see improvements happening on the ground with this year’s launch of the H spine and the C spine. Next year will see further phases of the new network rolled out, while planning applications for the core bus corridors will also be lodged with An Bord Pleanála. I am sure all of us who campaign for imp…

I will forward the Deputy’s comments to the Minister, Deputy Ryan. The information I have is there are channels and clear information for people to make their complaints and give their comments around existing services. I know the NTA is liaising closely with the transport operators in reviewing the introduction of these new services and it will take appropriate action, where necessary, to mitigate the impact of these services. I will certainly relay the Deputy’s comments back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan. With reg…

On the advisory group which will be providing the NTA with the viewpoints to feed back into the policies and programmes, an independent facilitator will be appointed to run its meetings. Some 15 places will be available on that transport users advisory group and that will be made up of representation from various modes of public transport such as cyclists, pedestrians, people with disabilities, older persons, business tourism, students, small public service vehicles, and a Local Link expert. I will relay the Deputy…

In addition to the primary function of our commercial State ports to facilitate maritime transport, the national ports policy 2013 also recognises the role ports can also play in servicing the offshore renewable energy, ORE, sector and the need for further port capacity in this area. The programme for Government has set a target for 70% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030 and for 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The climate action plan, published on 4 November 2021, has since increased the t…

A policy statement signalling the multi-port approach was prepared in consultation with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. That was presented to the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change on 8 December and went to Government on 14 December. The policy statement is in line with the existing national ports policy, which recognises the role of commercial State ports in servicing offshore renewable energy. The policy statement reiterates that position and signals the Government’…

The objective of achieving that 5 GW of installed offshore wind by 2030 will be met primarily through the deployment of fixed pile turbines off the east and south-east coasts. This is because of more favourable sea areas with significant water available at depths of under 60 m, combined with proximity to an existing and relatively strong onshore transmission system. It is intended the 5 GW target will be facilitated through two phases of offshore wind deployment with two specific auctions to take place under the re…

The standards for and issuing of driving licences are covered by EU directives, transposed into national law by member states. EU Directive 2006/126/EC on driving licences sets out, among other matters, minimum standards of driving fitness for all drivers, covering medical conditions that affect driving and setting out restrictions on the ability to hold a licence. Member states may, if they choose, apply higher standards in their own jurisdictions. Under Irish law, a person aged 70 or over must provide a medical r…