Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I welcome the proposal to change the licensing regime, in particular. Opening up the bus market is an important issue and we all support it. Allowing people to tender for a franchise is very important. In that context, I believe the State subsidy for Bus Éireann is €60 million a year, but I will stand corrected if the figure is not right. The point is that we do not know how many of those buses are PSOs. We need to know which routes are PSO and which are not, so that there is fair and proper competition. We must protect the interests of the taxpayer.

If private operators are prepared to tender openly for a franchise or a route, they need to have an opportunity to bid for PSO routes as well, if necessary. The key principle of Government, with which I have no problem, is that a significant proportion must be protected by keeping it in the hands of Dublin Bus. I have no difficulty with that. However, new commuters from conurbations around Dublin need more buses. Bus Éireann cannot provide them, so private operators are entitled to compete and get into the market. The quicker the legislation is in place the happier we shall be.

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