Marian Harkin
Ceist:212. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Transport the plans that are in place to address the backlog in motorcycle tests (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11164/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDriver Test
Ceisteanna (212)
Freagraí scríofa
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is responsible for the operation of motorcycle tests.
While I cannot comment on individual cases, I understand there is no excessive delay on motorcycles tests in comparison to car driving tests. While there have been some centres where it has taken longer to get a motorcycle test than a car test, driver testers have been recently upskilled to test this category and lists are therefore reducing across the board.
I am also referring the question to the RSA for further clarification of the position. If you do not have a further response within ten days, please contact my private office.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Maritime Jurisdiction
Ceisteanna (213, 214)
Eoin Ó Broin
Ceist:213. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Transport when he and his Department were each first notified of the proposed military exercises by the Russian Federation which were originally proposed to be conducted in Ireland’s exclusive economic zone; the checks that his Department is required to perform to ensure all necessary permits, licenses, consents or permissions have been secured before issuing a marine notice; the considerations that inform the posting of a marine notice; the person or body that requested the posting of marine notice 6 of 2022 by his Department; the date the notice was requested; the authority that requested same; the person or body that authorised the posting of the marine notice by his Department; the information that was provided to support the lawfulness of the activities proposed; the person or body that provided that information; if the information will be provided to both Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11182/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraEoin Ó Broin
Ceist:214. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Transport when he and or the relevant Minister of State and his Department were each first notified of the proposed military exercises by the Russian Federation which were originally proposed to be conducted in Ireland’s exclusive economic zone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11185/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 and 214 together.
On 19 January 2022, my Department was informed by the Irish Aviation Authority of a request they had received from the Russian authorities to issue a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) in respect of an area of Irish controlled airspace due to proposed military exercises scheduled to take place in February. Such a notice would ensure that civilian aircraft would avoid the area.
It was noted that the exercises were due to take place in international waters, outside of Ireland’s territorial sea but within the Irish EEZ. In accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea Convention (IMO SOLAS) Chapter V Regulation 4 on navigational warnings, Ireland is obliged to take all steps necessary to ensure that, when intelligence of any dangers is received from whatever source, to promptly bring this knowledge to those concerned. On this basis and as is the normal course with any notification my Department receives which may impact on vessels operating within the Irish EEZ, my Department issued a Marine Notice to advise mariners of operations due to take place so they may navigate safely. My Department issues Marine Notices on a regular basis, mainly for safety of navigation purposes, which is done on foot of notifications received in my Department and based on the information provided. The information provided is set out in the Marine Notices themselves, where it is noted that they are “issued purely for maritime safety and navigation reasons and should not be construed as conferring rights or granting permissions”. My Department has no role in processing or approving applications for any type of operations to be undertaken in the Irish EEZ whether they are military operations or geophysical surveys.
Question No. 214 answered with Question No. 213.
Aviation Industry
Ceisteanna (215)
Catherine Murphy
Ceist:215. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of flights that have arrived and departed Dublin and Shannon airports in the past five years to date that had no passengers onboard; the number for flights for the same time period that had less than 10% of the allocated plane capacity by year and number of flights in tabular form. [11203/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Department does not gather the data requested.
The Department produces a Quarterly Aviation Snapshot which gives headline statistics on passenger numbers at our airports for the previous quarter. The CSO Annual Aviation Statistics remains the official source of passenger and flight statistics. The CSO collect and publish annual statistics which give details on the number of passengers and flights classified by arrivals and departures, and by reference to national and international traffic. This covers both scheduled and non-scheduled flights.
Rail Network
Ceisteanna (216)
Paul Donnelly
Ceist:216. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Transport the plans that Iarnród Éireann or the National Transport Authority have to provide a Dublin - Kerry direct train service in each direction. [11246/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the 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 operation and provision of public transport.
The issue of the provision of new train service is an operational matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann, and I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Parking Provision
Ceisteanna (217)
Denis Naughten
Ceist:217. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Transport the plans he has to introduce autism-friendly parking and a supporting permit system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11248/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Drivers and passengers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are not eligible for the Disabled Parking Scheme and my Department has no plans to introduce a parallel scheme specific to autism.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Disabled Parking Permit is targeted at drivers and passengers with a permanent condition or disability that severely restricts their ability to walk. The intention of this permit is to provide access to parking bays of sufficient size in close proximity to important services such as post offices, banks, pharmacies and shops. The scheme is for people for whom access to such services, because of their limited mobility, would be denied if they could not park and disembark, either because of the size of a parking bay or because they could not park within a short distance of a service.
I would emphasise to the Deputy that issuing a large number of extra permits, either by extending the eligibility criteria to include autism, or by introducing an autism-specific scheme, would put the existing scheme under significant additional pressure and compromise the availability of accessible parking spaces for people with significantly restricted mobility.
Driver Licences
Ceisteanna (218)
Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:218. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons with a full driver's licence who do not have an insurance policy because they do not own a car, are facing difficulties with short-term leasing of vehicles which require a no claims bonus, or proof of previous driving record, as part of the hiring process; if he has examined ways in which they can retain their no claims bonus without owning a car; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11414/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The terms and conditions applied by insurance companies are a matter for those companies, which are regulated by the Central Bank, and do not fall within my remit. Likewise I have no remit in relation to the terms and conditions of car rental businesses.
Road Safety
Ceisteanna (219)
Cathal Crowe
Ceist:219. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Transport when the next speed limit review will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11428/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In accordance with Action 6 of the recently published Government Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, a working group has been established to examine and review the framework for setting of speed limits.
The Review Group has commenced its work and has met three times, with Terms of Reference agreed and background work packages being commissioned. The group is looking at the full framework of speed limits including in particular the 30km/h for urban areas. The work will have regard to international practice including Vision Zero as well as other actions in the Road Safety Strategy and related Strategies. It seeks to build on the work of the previous review which focused on the appropriateness and inconsistency of speed limits.
Departmental Data
Ceisteanna (220, 221)
Michael McNamara
Ceist:220. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Transport the public transport spend per capita per county for each of the years 2016 to 2021 inclusive in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11445/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMichael McNamara
Ceist:221. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Transport the public transport spend per capita for each of the electoral divisions in County Clare for the years 2016 to 2021 inclusive in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11446/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 220 and 221 together.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; However, I am not involved in day-to-day operations of public transport services. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the collection and publication of statistics relating to public transport.
Therefore, I have forwarded the Deputy’s questions, in relation to the public transport spend, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Question No. 221 answered with Question No. 220.
Bus Services
Ceisteanna (222)
James Lawless
Ceist:222. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Transport if he will examine an issue with a bus service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11514/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As 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 National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally including decisions in relation to bus routes and bus stops.
In light of the Authority's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy’s question, in relation to the possible provision of additional bus stops on Go-Ahead Ireland Bus Route 120C, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Taxi Licences
Ceisteanna (223)
Darren O'Rourke
Ceist:223. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he will extend the ten-year rule for taxis, recognising that most taxis were used considerably less than normal over the past two years due to the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11535/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) sector, including vehicle age limits for SPSVs, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.
In this regard, the Deputy should be aware that the NTA has extended age limits several times since the start of the pandemic, with standard age limits for taxis and hackneys now waived through to the end of 2022, thereby ensuring no operator exits the industry simply because of the need to replace a vehicle.
Driver Licences
Ceisteanna (224)
Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:224. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties workers from outside the State in are experiencing in obtaining an appointment with the National Driver Licence Service in order to exchange their foreign driving licence for an Irish driving licence; if he has plans to further resource the National Driver Licence Service in order to expedite this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11565/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
National Driver Licence Service front offices are open to the public, but an appointment must be made to attend. It is no longer possible to attend an office without an appointment.
Appointments can be made online or by telephone. Currently, 29,000 appointment slots are free out of the usual 77,000 slots available for booking across a six week period. The Road Safety Authority is aware that there can be difficulties getting through on the telephone at present, but are working with the service provider to ensure delays are kept to a minimum.
Departmental Correspondence
Ceisteanna (225)
Barry Cowen
Ceist:225. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Transport the policy instructions or policy documents that he has brought to the attention of An Bord Pleanála since coming into office [11609/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As part of the public consultation on the National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI), the Department’s new high-level strategic framework to support the consideration and prioritisation of future investment in land transport, a stakeholder engagement event was held in April 2021. I attended this event, where An Bord Pleanála’s Director of Planning was also in attendance.
Road Projects
Ceisteanna (226)
Jennifer Whitmore
Ceist:226. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he will list the consultancy reports carried out on a road (details supplied); the cost of hiring consultants for each report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11612/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Rail Network
Ceisteanna (227)
Mark Ward
Ceist:227. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Transport the status of the opening of Kishoge train station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11615/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area including, in consultation with Iarnród Éireann, the development and implementation of rail infrastructure.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a detailed reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Driver Test
Ceisteanna (228)
Pa Daly
Ceist:228. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that applicants are currently unable to book any online theory tests for their driving licence regardless of the dates that are selected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11626/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The online testing service was launched in 2021 as a pilot project. The pilot phase is now complete and the Driver Theory Test Service will review the findings of this project. No further bookings are available for online testing at this time.
All theory test centres are currently open at full capacity and there is adequate availability in all testing locations.
Departmental Schemes
Ceisteanna (229)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:229. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider granting members of an organisation (details supplied) full access to both the 20% reduction in passenger fares initiative and the youth travel card with immediate effect; if there will be a full resumption of the commercial bus operators' scheme until the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has dissipated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11688/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. It is the National Transport Authority (NTA) that has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services, provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on PSO services until the end of 2022. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use public transport every day. A further €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares, this is in addition to the REV22 allocations. The NTA will work with the PSO public transport operators in the coming weeks to commence rolling out these fare reductions across the public transport network in April/May.
Also, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured €25m of funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) which will allow any person nationwide who is between 19 and 23 years old, to avail of an entitlement for discounted travel costs, and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount to an average of discount of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. It is envisaged that the discount will initially be made available on PSO services, and then broadened to include commercial operators at a later date. This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among this age group but should also contribute towards a reduced reliance on private transport with associated benefit of transport emission savings.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question in relation to the inclusion of commercial bus operators in the schemes, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Driver Test
Ceisteanna (230)
Danny Healy-Rae
Ceist:230. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11690/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Road Safety Authority is responsible for the operation of the driving test. I have therefore forwarded the Deputy's query to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Electric Vehicles
Ceisteanna (231)
Joan Collins
Ceist:231. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Transport his plans to fit acoustic vehicle alert systems to electric bus vehicles given that the introduction of electric or hybrid vehicles will cause significant issues for pedestrians who are blind or vision impaired. [11700/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including procurement of the PSO bus fleet.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51