I understand the frustration over the roll-out of the broadband connection points throughout the country, not least now with many people working from home. My understanding is those initial works have started and I can ask the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to follow up with the Deputy with completion dates on that. In general, the Government is very much committed to the roll-out of the broadband plan. Within the Department, we continue to engage with National Broadband Ireland to explore the feasibility of accelerating a…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the terms of the Agreement between Ireland and the Danish State on the establishment of a framework for the statistical transfer of energy from renewable sources for target compliance purposes under Directive 2009/28/EC, signed and done at Dublin on 1st December, 2020, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 4th December, 2020. I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this important matter. Under the 2009 renewable energy directive, we are committed to a…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions, specifically the members of the Select Committee on Climate Action who gave priority consideration to these agreements at their meeting yesterday afternoon. A number of Deputies have rightly remarked on the significant costs to the State associated with these agreements and what an equivalent investment of €50 million would have achieved in retrofitting our housing stock, or in education or public health. The solution to avoiding future costs for statistical transfers o…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the terms of the Agreement between Ireland and the Republic of Estonia on the establishment of a framework for the statistical transfer of energy from renewable sources for target compliance purposes under Directive 2009/28/EC, signed and done at Dublin on 4th December, 2020, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 4th December, 2020.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to speak about Sligo Airport. As she will be aware, Sligo Airport is a private company based in Strandhill. As well as general aviation services, the airport operates as a Coast Guard search and rescue base under a commercial contract with CHC Ireland. The Department of Transport contracts for the delivery of the search and rescue service to CHC Ireland, which uses Sligo Airport as a base to deliver part of this service. The arrangements for this are a matter between CHC and S…

I hear what the Deputy said. The Government fully recognises and acknowledges the contribution Sligo Airport makes to the search and rescue service. However, CHC Ireland, as the operator, is fully responsible for agreeing operational arrangements with all the airports involved in the delivery of the search and rescue service, including Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo. In that context, neither the Department nor the Coast Guard have contractual arrangements with the airports concerned. CHC Ireland uses the faci…

I thank the Deputies for raising the matter in regard to access to hygiene and health facilities for approved driving instructors at driver test centres. Both the Department of Transport and the Road Safety Authority are aware that driving instructors disagree with the decision by the RSA to close washing facilities and waiting rooms in driver test centres to ensure compliance with public and occupational health requirements during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. I understand from the Road Safety Authority that prio…

I thank the Deputies and acknowledge that this is a difficult situation. Covid-19 has been disruptive to a number of settings. This is an operational matter for the RSA and driving instructors operate as independent businesses. They are not employed by either the Department of Transport or the Road Safety Authority. Driver testers are direct employees of the Road Safety Authority and, like any employer, the Road Safety Authority has a duty of care to those employees. That is why it has had to develop protocols to a…

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. EU legislation sets out several requirements that must be satisfied in order to be eligible to hold a road transport operator licence, one of which is professional competence. In order to fulfil this requirement, every road transport undertaking in Ireland or, indeed, any other EU member state must have a nominated transport manager to effectively and continuously manage its transport activities. The transport manager must hold a certificate of professional competence i…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions and for raising this issue. It is welcome news that will come as a relief to many transport managers around the country. On the EU residency requirement for transport managers, in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009, the transport manager for a road transport operator based in the EU must be resident in the EU. That was communicated to the transport managers in that communication by the Department. As I stated, my Department is working very hard to com…

The plan for living with Covid-19 and the Government decision of 20 October both affirm that any testing model implemented for international travel should not impinge on HSE testing capacity. In light of this, any testing for international travel will need to draw on resources from the private sector, which are not being accessed by the HSE. The testing regime envisaged under the Government decision for international travel will be implemented through the private supply of testing availability in Ireland. This will…

As Deputy O'Rourke is aware, we are listening to the advice of NPHET at the moment. We are at level 5. We have aligned ourselves with the EU traffic-light approach. People who come to this country from a red-list country will be asked to restrict their movements for 14 days. After five days, they can avail of PCR tests here. Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports and the private sector will be rolling out testing facilities. Travellers coming from orange list countries will be asked to take a test three days in advance …

Deputy O'Rourke raises a very valid point. Whatever we do at national level with the health protocols, there is a level of responsibility on anyone who is planning to travel here for essential work or who is returning home for Christmas to visit family, relatives and friends. It is in our interests to ensure that we act responsibly, that such persons take a PCR test in advance if they are coming from an orange-listed country and again after five days for people coming from a red-listed country. We need to await the…

Covid-19 has created difficulties for many public services, including the National Driver Licensing Service, NDLS and the driver testing service, which are provided by the Road Safety Authority. Closures during the initial lockdown earlier this year led inevitably to backlogs, while restrictions on the services, which are necessary in the interests of public health, have reduced capacity since the services reopened. The urgent health necessity which led to level 5 restrictions in October will have a further impact.…

The RSA is working to expand that capacity. The authority is working with its providers to see how it can do just exactly what the Deputy has outlined in regarding to extending weekend hours, overtime, the recruitment of additional staff as well as extending the postal service. It will need that extra capacity in terms of resources, but, at the same time, the throughput at the testing centres must be managed at all times. Many of the centres are small spaces, so that also needs to be managed in relation to the wait…

It is an operational matter for the RSA, but I hear the concerns of the Deputy, loud and clear. I know that in normal times, not just driving instructors, but somebody accompanying the learner driver doing their test, would normally be facilitated to wait in the waiting room in the driving test centres. However, these are not normal times. I take on board the Deputy's concerns in this regard. They are trying to minimise the throughput and the interaction at test centres, but I will speak to the RSA to see if furthe…

Maybe there is and we can look at that.

As signalled since the publication of the report, The Implications of Brexit on the Use of the Landbridge, by the Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, in 2018, it has been a matter of continuing concern that there is likely to be disruption to access to the British land bridge when customs and border controls between the EU and the UK are introduced at the end of the year. Since the publication of the report, my Department, in conjunction with the IMDO, has been keeping the issue of direct shipping routes to th…

In regard to the IMDO report, it is important to note that its analysis took account of the capacity across the ro-ro network and on services between Ireland and continental Europe. As recently as last week, Stena Line and Irish Ferries both indicated that they will be putting on a daily direct service from January. Indeed, they have been responding to demand throughout the pandemic and they put on extra services during the summer. The Minister and I met with representatives of the shipping companies last July and …

As we move towards the end of the Brexit transition period, there is a lot of engagement happening at a cross-departmental level, incorporating Dublin Port, the Office of Public Works, Revenue and my Department, to ensure we are as well prepared as possible. A huge amount of work has gone into this over the past number of years. There have been many campaigns aimed at preparing businesses, including hauliers, for customs checks. I thank the haulage industry representatives for their ongoing engagement with my Depar…