I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As I said earlier, I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. As the Deputy is aware, passports, in particular children's passports for family holidays, are an important topic for Members as we approach the busy summer travel period. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wishes to assure Members that the passport service is in an excellent position to deliver on the demand forecast for the rest of the year. Last week alone, 21,000 passports were issued. In relation to the data held in a passport, it is only possible for the passport services to follow the recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The function of the data held in a passport is to confirm the passport holder's identity and nationality. A child travelling abroad must have their own passport and cannot be included on their guardian's passport. The Department strongly urges anyone who is considering travelling overseas, particularly families with young children, to check the validity of their passports before booking their tickets and to apply online for their passports in plenty of time. I have no doubt that Deputy Ward will be following up with the Minister directly on foot of the questions he has posed. With his legal background he will be able to outline precisely the changes he feels could be made on a practical level to reflect the argument he is espousing on behalf of his constituents.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I wish to raise the Road Safety Authority's, RSA, defective implementation of the EU certificate of professional competence, CPC, driver training directive and, in particular, its latest flawed initiative, namely, a biased heavy goods vehicle, HGV, driver safety survey that is deeply concerning for road safety and the future of the haulage industry.
Sentiment score: 0.73
I thank the Minister of State for taking this question and for his response. It is very disappointing to see that neither the Minister for Transport nor the Minister of State with responsibility for transport is here because there are serious issues around the RSA. Last month, the RSA commissioned Leeds Beckett University to carry out research on HGV driver safety. There are a number of issues with that survey, which I will highlight now. They planned to interview only 40 Irish HGV drivers, but the extraordinary thing was that they wanted a sample of 20 drivers who had experienced issues such as speeding, drink driving, phone use or careless driving. It was like they were trying to engineer a particular sample for a predetermined headline, such as 50% of HGV drivers breaking the law. It really was biased. I have been in contact with the Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA, which has called this out and labelled it as fundamentally flawed and inherently biased. The survey ignored real-world problems and factors such as dangerous road infrastructure, the behaviour of other road users, levels of enforcement and indeed the performance of the RSA itself. Instead it focused on the negative and it was really like they wanted a particular outcome - no doubt about that. The sham survey, unfortunately, is not an isolated mistake by the RSA. It is a symptom of the RSA's wider failure to properly implement the EU CPC driver training directive. It is all down to the way this is being implemented. I have been provided with detailed correspondence from an experienced CPC trainer and member of the IRU expert panel in Brussels. He highlights the stark contrast with other EU member states. For example, in the Czech Republic, approved training centres have real flexibility and can deliver practical, relevant content, including first aid, emergency response, cargo security and company-specific training, even on the operator's own premises. Belgium offers 28 certified CPC courses, while the Netherlands offers 22. Drivers and operators have genuine choice and relevant training but it is not so in Ireland. There are issues with the RSA's implementation.
Sentiment score: -0.06
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. May I come back?
Sentiment score: 0.00
Okay.
Sentiment score: 0.23