Seán Canney

A Chathaoirligh.

With due respect, Deputy, you had your time and-----

If you could have the manners to let me talk, please. It is just common courtesy. I gave that to you. What I would say to you is I meet Bus Éireann on a regular basis where issues arise and I can meet it on this, but I will not be goaded into it or bullied into it by you.

What do you want?

No, I would say he can have the time. Sure he knows it all.

There is no point in talking when he shouts over me.

I thank the Deputy for the question. Commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing, CVRT, in Ireland is largely based on the EU roadworthiness directive, which is Directive 2014/45/EU. Although the directive has not set specific standards, it requires the provision of modern, up-to-date testing facilities to ensure all tests are carried out in accordance with the directive. While as Minister of State …

There are currently 147 authorised commercial vehicle roadworthiness test operators. I will list the expiry dates for their authorisations. Sixty will expire on or after 18 March 2034 and seven will expire between 18 March 2027 and 18 March 2034. Their premises will also comply. Sixty-nine expire on 18 March 2027 and 11 operators have informed the RSA that they will not continue to operate after t…

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this matter. I will give her the reply that I have been given, but, basically, my understanding is that in the context of the role of the Minister, this is a planning issue. I believe there is planning going on at the moment. I do not know the exact detail. While there is a planning application in the system, the role of the Minister is primarily to provide…

I cannot comment on the particular situation. Now that I understand what has happened, planning permission has been given for this and it is still in the planning process. I cannot comment on that-----

I have it in my own constituency with wind farms. These wind farms are being imposed on communities in their own backyards. They are very imposing. Again, we do not know who owns them. Investors own them. Communities are preparing submissions to go into the local authority to make their cases. They are meeting in community halls to see how they will do this when they should be at home enjoying the…

I thank the Deputy for the question. In County Galway, we have 30 villages without any treatment plant, so I empathise with him. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation. Neither I, nor the Minister, Deputy Browne, who offers his apologies as he cannot be here this evening for this question, have an operational function in the m…

I can feel the Deputy's frustration with this particular issue. As I said, for the first time ever we have put money into Uisce Éireann, which is ring-fenced money, for it to develop new infrastructure. Since its inception, Uisce Éireann has spent a lot of its time trying to firefight existing infrastructure which was not functioning properly. In fairness, it did not get the proper money to do the…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on road haulage costs and how the Government is supporting this critical sector. I will share my time with the Ministers of State, Deputies Christopher O'Sullivan and Jerry Buttimer. Geopolitical events over the past number of years and the storm damage to Holyhead at the end of last year have highlighted the importance of the road haulage sector and…

I rise today to pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, on the occasion of his departure from Cabinet. It is an important moment for this House and the country because it marks the close of a remarkable chapter in public service, one defined by stability, integrity and an unwavering commitment to the Irish people. Paschal Donohoe has given incredible service to this State since he fir…

-----we were waiting to make sure that over the next four years we would do that. I look forward to working with my colleagues for the next four years.

For almost 1,400 days, Ukraine has been subjected to an armed aggression, the likes of which had not darkened our Continent in decades. The actions of the Russian Government in invading the territory of a sovereign, independent state are an affront to humanity, conducted with flagrant disregard for the UN Charter and for international law. In the course of its military aggression, Russia has kille…

I thank the Deputy for his question. First, I want to state that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is at COP30 and that is why he is not here tonight to answer questions. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are here to answer the questions. It is important to point out that the Minister for Transport has no formal role when it comes to tolls. The setting of tolls is a statutory function of …

First, I cannot speak for people who made election promises in manifestos. I am here to deal with the question tonight and that is what I am here to do. I note there are 11 toll roads in the State of which ten are on the national roads. The East-Link-Ringsend bridge toll in Dublin is on the local road network. Of the ten tolls, there are two public tolls, namely, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel toll…

First, the question here is about the tolls and what they are doing. To recap again, there were previous tolls on eight PPP roads, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel. There were toll increases in 2025. At the moment, there are no changes for cars with the exception of a 10 cent increase on the M3 and M4 tolls. There are also increases for goods vehicles across all schemes, a 20% increase for heavy goo…

As Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, I wish to begin by noting that e-scooter users, like cyclists and pedestrians, are vulnerable road users. Their safety is of paramount importance when regulating for safer roads in Ireland. To that end, regulations providing for and governing the safe and legal use of e-scooters on Irish roads…

I share the Deputy's concerns. The growing number of incidents, accidents and near misses is becoming an issue. As the Minister of State responsible for road safety, I will be reviewing this. I say to him and take this opportunity to say to parents as well that if they are thinking about buying an e-scooter, not to buy one for a child under 16 years of age, please. Many other technical requirement…

I thank the Deputy for his support and offer because working together is how we will improve safety. I will be talking to my officials about the evidence that has come back since the regulations were brought in in 2024 to see whether patterns have been seen. However, I believe there is a huge lack of understanding of what an e-scooter can do, the power it has and the speed it can go at. We have th…

The Department of Transport's annual capital allocations from 2026 to 2030 were confirmed in the review of the national development plan published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation in July. In recognition of the importance of advancing projects in the transport sector, of the €102.4 billion allocated across Government Departments, €22…

The PSO has been increasing. Why? It is because public transport services are increasing, demand is increasing and we are providing more services. Under the national development plan review, there was a reset of the money available for the PSO. I am satisfied that there is enough money there to meet the existing PSOs and for further development when we publish the new scheme. It is also important…