Foot passengers are currently able to travel to France on ferry services, with the exception of one operator over the winter months due to operational constraints. I understand that the Deputy's question was prompted by the announcement last Thursday regarding increased service frequencies on roll-on roll-off passenger, RoPax, ferry services from Ireland to France from January 2021 and by the publication of the Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, report regarding capacity on continental services. With the Brex…

Irish Ferries and Stena Line operate services on the Dublin to Cherbourg and Rosslare to Cherbourg routes, respectively. Brittany Ferries is expected to provide services from Rosslare to Cherbourg and from Cork to Roscoff from March to October of next year. Both Irish Ferries and Stena Line carry foot passengers during the peak period every year. However, Stena Line carries foot passengers all year around. As the Deputy has outlined, Irish Ferries does not carry foot passengers over the winter period only, when it …

Bus and rail services are available for foot passengers travelling to Rosslare to avail of the Stena Line services that run all year. I reiterate that the situation referred to by the Deputy relates just to Irish Ferries during the winter period and to the MS Epsilon vessel, because of health and safety reasons regarding the ramps on board. The Government is, however, looking at how we can encourage and enhance the passenger experience as part of the Department's work in that area.

The impacts of Covid-19 on the aviation industry continue to be devastating, with knock-on effects for our domestic tourism and regional economies, particularly in the west. This has been further compounded by Ryanair’s most recent decision to cut its winter capacity at Ireland West Airport Knock and to cancel all services for four weeks, from the end of next week until mid-December. Ryanair made this decision on a commercial basis in light of poor forward bookings for the period in question. It also forms part of …

The €6 million announced this week for our regional airports will be administered by the Department of Transport, which has begun the process of engaging with the European Commission regarding state aid rules. Ireland is an island nation and I do not have to explain to the Deputy or anyone here the importance of core connectivity. I am very hopeful that will be successful. It will then be up to the regional airports to apply for that funding through the Department. Turning to the question of testing, as I outlined …

There is eligibility in respect of state aid rules where airports have suffered damages due to the impact of Covid-19. It is clear and obvious to us that regional airports, such as Knock, have been severely impacted by Covid-19. It is in that context that we are engaging with the European Commission. The Deputy can be assured of the certainty around that and the importance of maintaining our core connectivity. That is the reason that the Government this week provided €6 million, in addition to the €21.3 million all…

My Department and the RSA are aware that some driving instructors disagree with the decision by the RSA to close washing facilities and waiting rooms at driver test centres, to ensure compliance with public and occupational health requirements during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. I understand from the RSA that prior to the current pandemic some test centres across the country offered toilet facilities, and in some cases indoor waiting rooms, where instructors could choose to wait while their students were out unde…

I thank the Deputy and I hear his concerns on this. As I said, this is an operational matter for the RSA. The learner driver who is doing the test can go into the driver test centre to use the facilities. The reason behind the measure is to try to minimise the through traffic inside test centres to protect public health. I hear the Deputy's concerns. It is not only about the driving instructors but also about those who bring the learner driver to the test centre, be it a parent or other accompanying driver. In norm…

These protocols were put in place to minimise the likelihood of the transmission of Covid-19 within the centres and to minimise the throughput of people in them. People doing the driving test must be brought to the centres by an accompanying driver because they are learners who have not yet passed the test. Those accompanying drivers may be parents. I am not detracting from what Deputy Barry said but the context in which these protocols were put in place was to try to keep everybody safe. I hear the Deputy's concer…

I thank Deputies for their valuable contributions to this important discussion. The importance of the aviation industry in terms of its contribution to Ireland's GDP, foreign direct investment, FDI, and job creation cannot be understated. Aviation plays this vital role in facilitating economic growth, but on a human level it also links different cultures and peoples. The national aviation policy, Project Ireland 2040 and the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future recognise the significant importance and value …

I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this really important matter. The driver test service and the driver theory test are the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The Department has been in constant contact with the RSA since the start of the pandemic regarding all of its services, the impact of Covid-19 on those services and how they can best be maintained in the current circumstances. As the Deputy is aware car driving tests were temporarily suspended due to Covid-19 in March 2020. Since the…

I thank the Deputy. My understanding is that the 36 figure refers to the number of extra driver testers who will be in place. I know how concerned many constituents are about this and while the service is limited during level 5 restrictions, the Road Safety Authority is examining ways of increasing the number of tests within the health constraints, with an eye on resuming the wider testing level after level 5. It is working in close consultation with the Department on the matter. This includes increasing the number…

The Tánaiste gave a full and frank account of his actions and motivations last week in this House and took considerable time answering Deputies' questions. Today is two hours of statements and counter statements, a rehash of last week's events when we are in the midst of the most serious health crisis to face our nation and staring down the barrel of a no-deal Brexit. We will spend valuable Dáil time today making speeches about a document the detail of which was in the public domain when the then Taoiseach passed i…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “recognises: — the important role that An Post and post offices have played during the Covid-19 pandemic in its commitment to rural communities and to the elderly and vulnerable in our society, and its provision of a swift and sustained response to the crisis in the introduction of a number of initiatives, including check-ins on elderly and vulnerable customers, delivery of newspapers and a recent commitment to free mail …

I move: “That Second Stage be taken now.”

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” The Bill is to provide a statutory basis for a continuation of the powers of the Railway Accident Investigation Unit, RAIU for the reporting and investigation of serious accidents and incidents involving certain categories of railways that are specified in section 3. The RAIU is the independent statutory body that carries out railway accident investigations in the State. I refer to the background to this matter. The EU railway safety directive of 2004, Directive 20…

I thank Deputies for their support for the Bill. As stated already, it is an important Bill to ensure that the railway accident investigation unit will continue to have the full range of statutory powers from 31 October. The transposition regulations of 2020 will provide the statutory basis in respect of heavy rail and through the operation of this Bill, the RAIU will be in a position to apply the provisions in the regulations of 2020 to light rail and other railways from 31 October. In this way, the Bill will ensu…

I thank Deputy Calleary for providing me with the opportunity to speak about the impact of Covid-19 at Ireland West Airport Knock and, in particular, with regard to the decision of Ryanair to reduce its services. Like all airports, Ireland West Airport Knock has been fully exposed to the intense decline in global aviation activity and, unfortunately, the decline has been further compounded by Ryanair's announcement to cut its winter capacity at the airport. As a key player in delivering high-quality international c…

I assure the Deputy that this Government is fully committed to our airports and especially to airports like Ireland West which facilitates tourism and economic development for the entire region. Like many of our small airports, Ireland West Airport Knock plays a key role in making the region accessible in that context. The Government is acutely aware of the effects Covid-19 is having an all airports, on the wider industry, and most importantly on people whose jobs have been directly affected by this pandemic. We ar…

When my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, addressed the House yesterday, he outlined the planned investment of €3.5 billion to fund projects and programmes under the Department's transport remit in 2021. An increase of €617 million, or 33%, in capital will allow the Department to continue with its investment in capital expenditure under the national development plan, despite the major challenges created by Covid-19. Today, I wish to outline in more detail how this investment will impact the …