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Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

Varadkar: Ireland needs to be "wiser" about investment in transport

Ireland is not in a position to invest financially in transport like it was in the past – so it needs to be wiser about how it does invest, says the Minster for Transport.

IRELAND NEEDS TO be “wiser” about how it invests in transport because of a lack of funding, Minister Leo Varadkar has said.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport made the comment in a speech on his priorities during Ireland’s EU presidency to the European Parliament’s Transport Committee  this week.

“Ireland, like many other countries, is not in a position to invest financially [in] transport at the same levels as before,” he said.

That does not mean we can’t invest in transport, it simply means we need to be wiser about how and where we invest.

Minister Varadkar told the committee that Ireland has a very strong track record on road safety which he is keen to maintain and improve upon.

We do not have a monopoly on wisdom in this area and in that context, I plan to host a major conference on road safety in Dublin during our Presidency in order to facilitate an exchange of good practice in relation to this critical issue for European citizens. The focus of the conference will be on serious injuries and will take place on 28th March in Dublin Castle.

He noted that the Vice President will address the conference against a backdrop of some new European initiatives in the area of injury prevention.

Air passenger rights

Minister Varadkar said that Air Passenger Rights is also a “much anticipated dossier” which he will progress in Council once the Commission finalise their internal deliberations on it.

“We expect these proposals to clarify issues such as the rights of passengers, particularly in cases of flight cancellations, delays and denied boarding,” he said.

He said they would hope to take this to the June Transport Council with a view to passing it to Lithuanian colleagues to open discussions with the transport committee.

The Minister also spoke about the Passenger Ship Safety proposal, which comes near the first anniversary of the Costa Concordia accident, and which he said will be promised over the course of the next six months.

He did note, however, that any proposals have “an ever-narrowing window of opportunity for successful conclusion”.

Read: Irish Rail says new timetables will cut some journeys by up to 25 minutes>

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36 Comments
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    Mute Al
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:16 PM

    I Love Dublin.

    66
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    Mute Old Gabby Johnson
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 6:30 PM

    Its a kip.

    21
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    Mute Integra-Ted
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 6:33 PM

    Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of Dublin so!

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    Mute john
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:22 PM

    Stunningly lyrical piece..very entertaining…

    50
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    Mute Cosmo Kramer
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:14 PM

    While Dublin has some brilliant People living in it and is very pretty it has turned into a dump.. The City Centre is full of junkies, drunks and gangs of young lads running riot. Beatings and stabbings are nearly a nightly occurrence and there’s not a Guard in sight.. Open drug dealings and drug taking can be seen all over the city centre..

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    Mute Al
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:18 PM

    Slight exaggeration. You always get one….

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    Mute Harry Sheils
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:58 PM

    Got goosebumps listening to that. Fantastic.

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    Mute Vicko Aguilar
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 5:49 PM

    Beautiful! I ❤️ Dublin

    28
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    Mute Johnny
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 5:08 PM

    Dublin in a Cultural Jewel of Europe….not many cities have produced the amount Dublin has…U2 Bram Stoker Yeats Shaw Lynott Geldoff O’Hara and on and on the list goes….it took me a while but I love the city…not perfect but us Irish are far from perfect…

    About the controversy in Limerick City of Culture 2014…why feel the need to mention over and over again it when it was completely over amplified across the entire media infrastructure at the time…it was the 1st significant investment in culture in a City whose reputation had been destroyed by media…and it was the first city to expose political interference in Culture and how it is funded!!!

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    Mute joeythelad
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 4:51 PM

    I have been to a lot of European cities and I can tell you , you seldom seen junkies injecting openly on the streets ,mothers and fathers going around with kids in prams strung out , dirt and dog pooh and chewing gum littering the streets ,muggings, pickpockets, shoplifting , loads of stabbings and the frequent murder and theres much more I can add ,but that’s what Dublin is and that’s what I call a dump

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    Mute danielplainview
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 6:22 PM

    You’re what I call a dope

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    Mute Ana Nonymous
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 8:32 PM

    Have to agree with what you have to say beautiful piece though!

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    Mute Diarmaid O'Fionnachta
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    Nov 4th 2015, 1:30 AM

    Joey you;d wanna go to Rome. Very sketchy, much more so than Dublin!

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 9:27 PM

    Like every city it has it’s problems but the pros far outway the cons……. The view across Dublin bay from Howth head, the Phoenix Park, shielded by beautiful mountains, great night life, welcoming people, culturally diverse, Croke Park, Guinness Brewery, great museums and gallerys, fantastic georgian areas, beautiful canals etc etc. Does it have drug and crime problems? Absolutely. It needs to be dealt with urgently by those elected to do so. Is everyone full of top o the mornin to you and cead mile failte? No the natives are by and large welcoming and witty but like any city we have our troubles and strifes. Overall though it’s a smashing city, with great characters, lots of variety and is a pretty hip place to live. I’m proud to tell people that I am Irish and I am from Dublin.

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    Mute joeythelad
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 7:02 PM

    If people cant see what I say when they go into town they must be blind

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    Mute Qwerty
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 8:42 PM

    Remove beggers, bucket shakers and buskers. Then it would be much nicer.

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    Mute Catherine Mc
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 9:24 PM

    This it wouldn’t be Dublin !

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    Mute Qwerty
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    Nov 3rd 2015, 9:33 PM

    It would still be Dublin. Just without the harassment on the streets. It’s important to get rid of buskers and street performers too. It’s just begging via proxy. People should be forced to walk on the left on Grafton Street. Very annoying when you just need to get from A to B and Grafton Street is an obstacle course. Ban chewing gum all around the country too.

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    Mute Rathminder
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    Nov 4th 2015, 7:54 AM

    The audio was brilliant. Did the video need to begin with such dismal city scenes? Dublin is a city of golden light and great beauty as well as grey and dismal streets.

    2
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