Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

So the Minister is changing it. That is fair enough.

This is a key issue. The Ceann Comhairle and the Minister probably know more about this matter than I do but, from my perspective, the Bill has been in preparation for many years and it ought to be before the House where we will give it due and proper consideration. It is necessary to have the controlling interest of the Dublin transport authority with the regulatory powers to address any issues that might arise in terms of people fighting over their own patch. We need direction, control and a vision and until we have that Bill, we will not have these things. We, on this side of the House, are very happy for the Bill to come before us as soon as possible. Perhaps when the Minister responds he can indicate what is happening in regard to the Bill. We need this authority to be in place and until it is here we will not have a blueprint that can be acted upon to address transport issues, especially in Dublin. I hand over to Deputy Bannon.

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