CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Speech by Minister Ross, Be Winter Ready Launch
Wednesday 8th November
q This is my second year to be involved in the Winter Ready campaign as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I am delighted to be here.
q My Ministerial colleagues will talk about the various aspects of preparing for winter that comes within their Ministerial remit. Likewise with me. There is one common theme though across all our briefs and that is safety. It is one that I will take up today in respect of transport.
q Safety is of paramount importance to each of our transport operators, many of whom are represented here today. Each operator has contingency plans in place to deal with the impact of severe weather, aiming to avoid disruption to the travelling public where possible.
q During severe weather, our priority is to keep open the national primary road network, important regional roads including public transport routes, and to minimise any delays or disruptions in our sea ports, our airports and on our railways.
q However, nature is more powerful than mankind and sometimes the safest action to take is to close down our transport services. We only have to cast our eyes back a few weeks to know this.
q Ophelia caused substantial disruption to our public transport services and to our international connections by air and sea. It also severely disrupted our road network, particularly in the south of the country and particularly on regional and local roads, but also on some national routes. However our local authority staff and transport workers deserve great credit for the speed by which they restored services.
q In relation to snow and icy conditions, Transport Infrastructure Ireland has continued to work with Local Authorities to ensure an adequate supply of salt. 212,000 tonnes of salt are nationally available this winter for use on national, regional & local roads. By comparison, 85,000 tonnes of salt were used last winter.
q I think every Minister who has stood here previously has hoped that the winter ahead would be a mild one. I am no different in hoping likewise. However we cannot plan on that basis and much work has gone into preparing for more serious weather.
q Whatever is ahead of us, I would urge all transport users to be aware of conditions around them and to heed the safety advice being given to them.
q Winter Ready is all about being prepared. For road users, I would ask that they and their vehicles are prepared for winter. The Road Safety Website – www.rsa.ie – has safety tips for all users and I would strongly urge all drivers to check these out in advance of winter.
q Thank you.