Written Answers Nos. 214-227
214. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he has seen an alternative proposal for flight paths at Dublin Airport (details supplied) which have the potential to address the existing noise nuisance over many properties; if he has discussed this proposal with the DAA and aviation authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42658/23]
View answerI would like to thank the deputy for his question and for bringing the attached proposal to my attention. While my Department has received similar concepts in correspondence over recent months, I have not received this particular proposal from this group previously.
Given the technical nature, safety and navigational implications of the content I have forwarded the proposal to the relevant agencies AirNav Ireland, Irish Aviation Authority and daa for their views.
215. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 103 Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42659/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
216. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 103X Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42660/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
217. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 105 Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42661/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
218. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 105X Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42662/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
219. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 109 Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42663/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
220. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the ongoing poor service on the 109A Bus Éireann route; his assessment and plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42664/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The questions raised by the deputy in relation to Bus Éireann routes 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 109 and 109a is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
221. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Transport when the proposed new bus route L14 in Bray, County Wicklow, will start operating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42675/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. There have been significant developments in relation to bus transport since this Government came into office, with last year's publication of a new Sustainable Mobility Policy and its five-year action plan providing strong policy support to the continued expansion and enhancement of bus services. I am also delighted to say that this strong policy support has been backed up by increased levels of Exchequer funding, which is supporting the roll-out of initiatives such as BusConnects.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including BusConnects.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's questions in relation to the areas raised to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
222. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport whether his Department has examined the possible use of A-Traktors for young drivers in Ireland, as is in operation in Sweden; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42692/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware A-Traktors are a type of vehicle converted to a low-speed tractor that can be driven in Sweden by young drivers with a special license. I am given to understand that these A-Traktors in Sweden are limited to 30km/hr and are effectively modified cars and trucks mainly used by 15 to 18-year-olds before getting their full driver's license. The vehicle category is aligned to tractor driving requirements in Sweden and requires an AM category or Tractor licence.
My Department currently has no plans to examine the possible use of A-Traktors for young drivers in the state.
223. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport if, given the unprecedented traffic gridlock caused by the closure of the Obelisk Bridge for works, he will liaise with Louth County Council, TII and the M1 toll operators, to offer Eircode-based M1 toll passes, or any other workable solution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42709/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. 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.
The Obelisk bridge refurbishment project is on a non-national road and is being undertaken by the Council; TII has no role in the project.
I understand from TII they have engaged with Louth County Council, who are acting as lead Local Authority for the Obelisk Bridge refurbishment project. TII outlined to the Council that the implementation of a temporary waiver of the toll at Donore Ramps for all traffic would have the effect of inducing traffic at Donore ramps attempting to bypass the mainline toll into Drogheda. This would lead to significant congestion in the town, as well as resulting in substantial costs due to a combination of lost toll revenues at both the Donore road toll plazas, as well as the mainline toll plaza at Balgeen. In this scenario the costs would be very significant and TII is not in a position to fund any such compensation.
224. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport if, noting the availability of online maps and route planners, there is consideration being given to removing the SPSV exam which comprises two separate modules: the Industry Knowledge Module and the Area Knowledge Module; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42710/23]
View answerThe regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including the SPSV driver licence tests, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV industry.
Accordingly, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.
225. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the reasons that the Grand Canal Greenway in Clondalkin has been closed to users now for the third time to facilitate cabling works for a nearby building (details supplied), without adequate alternate routes for cyclists and pedestrians being provided. [42718/23]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel. Funding is administered through the National Transport Authority (NTA), who, in partnership with local authorities, have responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area. In 2023 alone, over €22 million has been allocated to South Dublin County Council for the provision of walking and cycling infrastructure projects.
It must be noted however, that while NTA are responsible for delivery of projects, once they are delivered their closure or otherwise is a matter for local authorities. As this section of the Grand Canal Greenway has been completed, the responsibility for its closure, as well as the provision of alternative routes for pedestrians and cyclists if possible, lies with South Dublin County Council.
226. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport whether he intends publishing all the back-up documentation referred to by a company that worked on contract for his Department here and the Department of Transport in NI (details supplied) as part of the preparation of the All-Island Strategic Rail review, so that interested parties will have full access to the range of documentation on which the recommendations of the strategy were based; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42789/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review will inform the development of rail on the Island of Ireland in the coming decades to 2050, in line with net zero targets in both jurisdictions. The Review is considering the potential scope for improved rail services along various existing and potential future corridors of the network, and that scope includes the potential afforded by disused.
Work on the Review is now at an advanced stage and a draft report and extensive supporting documentation was published for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) public consultation in July.
One element of that extensive supporting documentation that was published is entitled ‘Work Package 3: Appraisal and Definition’, and Chapter 2 of that Work Package Report outlines in detail the demand model and appraisal process used to assess the various packages. The Chapter refers to further technical detail in relation to three particular aspects of the demand model outlined in the Chapter as contained in a supplementary technical working paper (which was itself subject to iterative updates), which are all reflected in the published documentation, and it is not proposed to publish further documentation at this juncture.
227. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has a policy on the use of artificial intelligence; and if any Departmental functions are assisted by language model-based chatbots (details supplied). [42826/23]
View answerAs advised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in their release “Cyber Security Guidance on Generative AI for Public Sector Bodies” published on 1 June 2023, staff in my Department are developing risk assessment frameworks and policy guidelines for staff to ensure that any use of AI tools is done in a safe and appropriate manner and on the basis of an accepted business case. Until this work is complete and in place, my Department has acted on the advice of the NCSC by restricting access to AI tools by default. As a result, there are no Departmental functions being assisted by language model-based chatbots at this time.
