Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I and many other Deputies have been raising this matter for some time and on each occasion the Minister informs us he is engaged in talks with Dublin Bus, trade unions etc. Unlike the customers and commuters trying to travel to work every day whom the Minister is supposed to represent, he has a seat at the Cabinet table. He and his two immediate predecessors promised reform of the bus market and the introduction of a new regulatory framework which would allow an increase in the number of buses on the streets of Dublin. When will their promises materialise?

The Minister indicated he may have legislation published by the end of the year. The people of Dublin are screaming out for immediate liberalisation of the bus market. I had the misfortune to travel on the M50 this morning on my way to the National Roads Authority's road safety conference. It took me an hour and a quarter to travel four miles in the bedlam on the road. Those who must make this journey and the many others around Dublin who must make similar journeys are screaming out for buses. Where are the fleets of buses which could bring these drivers — most cars on the M50 have no passengers — to work every morning to the industrial estates and business parks along the M50? It is in the Minister's power to offer them relief, almost overnight, but time and again he has refused to do so. When will he reform the bus market?

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