Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I refer to the legislation that will underpin these changes. Does the Minister accept a significant number of operators are competing in the national bus market? Within the Dublin area, a recent survey of traffic movement across the canal cordon highlighted that almost 30% of buses were privately owned. The difficulty from a legislative point of view is there is no facility for charging operators for licences. Licences to operate busy bus routes are valuable commodities but a charge is not provided for in legislation. Does the Minister intend to address that?

CIE workers are greatly concerned about the proposed break up of the company and its implications for their pensions, which are currently guaranteed by the company. The Department of Transport recently commissioned a report. Will the Minister place that report in the Oireachtas Library? When does he expect to bring the discussions to a conclusion?

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