Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I take it the Minister does not have a bus policy and is just thinking about one. I know Dublin Bus is carrying out a review. A review was undertaken in 2000, the Scott Wilson report, which recommended that by 2006, this year, Dublin Bus would need around 1,500 buses. Of course that was a gross under-estimation of requirements, but nevertheless it has nothing like that, with just over 1,000 buses today. That report was ignored. Even the 180 buses promised under the national development plan was ignored. Prior to that the Government had announced policy based on the Bacon report on the liberalisation of the bus market in Dublin. That was accepted as Government policy. Another report was commissioned at great expense to show how it might be done. That was accepted by Government and subsequently ignored. In view of the latest report from the Competition Authority recommending the liberalisation of the bus market in order to get rid of the inefficiencies that are endemic in the current system, which is not serving the public well, does the Minister intend to ignore this report as well or will he liberalise the bus market as announced several times as Government policy?

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