Fianna Fáil spokesperson Robert Troy has called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, to make a statement setting out what he plans to achieve with the cabinet role he has been given. His latest call on the Minister to explain himself comes five months after Mr Ross’s appointment.
Deputy Troy commented, “For many years, ministers from a variety of departments and the entire Irish public were beneficiaries of the wisdom and insight of Shane Ross, as he shared his expertise on every major issue facing successive Irish governments.
“When he was appointed to Cabinet five months ago, people looked forward to hearing this expert’s vision on the future of the transport sector in this country. Similarly, the central importance of the tourism sector would have created a reasonable expectation that Minister Shane Ross has some ideas on how we safeguard and further develop it for the future.
“However, five months into his tenure, Shane Ross’s singular achievement in government has been his complete failure to spell out a single idea, or give any evidence of the existence of any vision for the future of transport, tourism or sport in Ireland,” said Deputy Troy.
“I have noted many times the ability of Shane Ross to offer opinions on issues outside of his responsibility. He is a regular feature on the Leinster House plinth and the nation’s chat shows giving his view on the latest Government crises and all manner of things, but he has still not managed to explain in any way what he wants to do with the enormous opportunity he has been given.
“Where is he on investment in railways and support for commuters? What is the strategy for investment in public transport generally? What is he doing to mitigate the effects of Brexit on our tourism offer? What does he even think is important or should be prioritised in his department in 2016?
“When Shane Ross was appointed to Cabinet there were many different ideas about what sort of minister he would be. However, not even his most sceptical critic could have predicted the extent to which he would simply not engage with the issues. It simply isn’t good enough and five months into his tenure I repeat the call I have been consistently making – Shane Ross needs to explain to the public what exactly he wants to achieve and where, in his view, their money should be invested,” concluded Deputy Troy.
