Taoiseach answers questions on road deaths, Garda Commissioner and Conor Pass during Louth visit

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar answered questions on a number of topics on national issues during his visit to Dunleer today.

Dublin Airport

During the visit the Taoiseach defended Fingal County Council’s decision to issue an enforcement order on Dublin Airport requiring it to reduce the number of night-time flights.

Mr Varadkar also said he did not think there would ultimately be any disruption to flights, as he expressed confidence a resolution would be found to the issue.

His comments come after Ryanair branded the enforcement order from the council “stupid”. The council has told the airport to reduce the number of flights between 11pm to 7am to 65 a night within six weeks.

The order comes after the council ruled the airport was in breach of planning conditions for operating late-night flights.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Varadkar said: “Fingal County Council has to enforce the law. And if planning conditions have been breached, well, then Fingal County Council has no choice but to enforce the law, so I don’t criticise the council for doing its job. But I think there’s a number of further steps that are yet to play out in this regard. There is an appeal before An Bord Pleanala  at the moment and I think there’s also likely to be a court case.

“So I don’t anticipate that there will be disruption to people’s flights. If people are worried about their flights in the next few weeks, whether it’s for holidays, or visiting relatives or businesses, I don’t think they need to be because this will play out both in An Bord Pleanala and in the courts. But ultimately, Fingal County Council has to enforce the existing planning permission and they are right to do so.”

Conor Pass

The Taoiseach also indicated that the Government would be interested in purchasing Conor Pass in Co Kerry but not for 10 million euro.

Mr Varadkar was commenting after the 1,400 acres of scenic landscape were put up for sale by their US owner for a guide price of 10 million euro.

“I think it’s fair to say that the state won’t be paying 10 million for it,” he said.

“But we would be interested in talking to the owner about a reasonable price.

“Because I’d like to see us extend our national parks, our national parks are a wonderful public asset and I’d like to see more of them and I’d like to see them made bigger.

“But this is taxpayers’ money and, if there’s a reasonable price that we can agree, well, then I think we’d like to take it into public ownership, but the price has to be reasonable.”

Garda Commissioner

The Taoiseach also insisted the Government retains full confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and that will not change if Garda rank and file vote no confidence in him.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is balloting members on the issue amid a deepening dispute over Mr Harris’s plans to change the rostering system within the force.

Mr Varadkar was asked whether he would support Justice Minister Helen McEntee removing Mr Harris if the GRA voted no confidence in him.

He made clear the Government would not be sacking the commissioner.

“That won’t happen,” said Mr Varadkar. “The Government has confidence in Commissioner Harris. The commissioner is appointed by government after a fair competition and we stand by that process.

“It’s not the case that the teachers in the staff room decide who the principal is. It’s not the case that the players decide who the coach is. The Garda Commissioner is appointed by the Government after a fair and free process that people can apply for and we stand over that appointment and we have confidence in him.”

Road Deaths

The Taoiseach also said he was deeply worried about rising road death figures in Ireland.

He said he and Justice Minister Helen McEntee discussed the issue with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at a recent meeting.

Mr Varadkar said added Garda resources on the roads over the bank holiday weekend were designed to provide more visible enforcement of road safety laws.

“I’m a former transport minister, I’m a member of a family who lost somebody on the roads, it really concerns me, it really pains me to see an increase in road deaths,” he said.

“We’ve made so much progress as a country over the past 10 or 20 years and to see that going backwards really worries me, it worries me deeply.

“So additional and more visible enforcement is part of the solution. But, fundamentally, it’s also about our own behaviours. You know, very simple things – wearing a seat belt, not drinking and driving, keeping speed limits, not looking at your phone while you’re driving.

“They’re the most effective measures and I really would appeal to people let’s try and make this bank holiday a bank holiday which nobody dies on the roads.”

Interest Rates

The Taoiseach also discussed interest rates saying they may remain at between 3% to 5% for the next 10 years.

Last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) again increased rates, with the deposit rate rising to 3.75%.

“We had a prolonged period of very low interest rates for a very long time in Ireland,” Mr Varadkar told reporters in Co Louth.

“It might be the case that interest rates of 3% to 5% become the norm for the next five or 10 years and we need to bear that in mind.

“We had a very prolonged period of very low interest rates in Europe. That was unusual and that has now come to an end.

“I think it would be a mistake to make the assumption that interest rates won’t be in that 3% to 5% band for the foreseeable future, they might well be.”