Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy is right in principle. The Dublin transport authority must have substantial legal powers to be able to pull together all the elements, whether fixed rail, light rail, commuter or bus traffic etc., to develop a general public transport network in Dublin and regulate the entire market. There are good examples from other capital cities as to how a regulatory authority works and it is feasible to do the same in Dublin, particularly in the greater Dublin area.

The Deputy raised issues I am dealing with in parallel but which impinge on the legislation for the Dublin transport authority and the reform of the market. There is an interrelationship between the two issues. I have kept the stakeholders on every side fully involved and have asked them to work through the issues with me. I appreciate the efforts they are making. We are at a crunch time. I have circulated the DTA memorandum for Government to the other Departments and hope to bring my proposals to Government shortly.

The legislation will take account of a number of the issues the Deputy has raised. Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann and private sector companies are all operating companies. There is a difference between how they operate and how we manage and regulate the market. The DTA will play a key role in that area. Currently the local authorities, the DTO and many other bodies have an input, but we need to centre authority in one body to have a clear vision of how we should go forward in terms of the best outcome for the paying customer, the public.

See this speech in context