Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The relevant figure for public transport is €58 million. As the Deputy is aware, a ten-year envelope for transport projects, including public transport projects and roads projects, is provided for under Transport 21. The €58 million that was not spent has not been lost to Transport 21, as arrangements are in place to ensure it can be spent at a later time. It was not spent this year because of delays associated with railway orders and consultation on public projects. It was anticipated that land would be bought to facilitate the development of certain public transport projects, but that did not happen as a result of delays in the planning process. I assure the Deputy that this money has not been lost to public transport. There would not be much point in providing 196 extra buses in the absence of additional bus drivers to drive them.

A number of the buses provided under Transport 21 are in operation, in line with the requests made to the Department. Some 100 buses have been replaced with new buses, all of which will be brought into operation when the recruitment process for drivers has been completed. I reiterate my previous statements about the 1932 Act, which is in need of reform, as Deputy O'Dowd said. I will concentrate initially on producing the Dublin Transportation Authority Bill, which will affect public transport services in the greater Dublin area. I will transfer my attention to amending the 1932 Act as soon as the DTA Bill has been published and is being discussed in the House.

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