Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

What will happen when public meetings are called and people come out in their hundreds to the local hotel or hall to complain about poor services or some issue that is seriously affecting them? Neither the chief executive officer of the Dublin transport authority nor any of the other nine members will be present at such meetings. Instead, it will be the local public representatives and Oireachtas Members for the area who will be wheeled out. Yet again, however, we will have to explain that we do not have the authority to change anything. That is why people are losing faith in democracy and in their public representatives. Like many others, I have been canvassing for a "Yes" vote in the referendum on the Lisbon treaty and I have been told by numerous people that they do not want to hand over more power to the bureaucrats. That is the reason that many decent people are voting "No". They are fearful of giving away power from their elected representatives, who can be replaced by them every four or five years.

Citizens will not be able to replace the chief executive officer of the new transport authority, nor will they be able to effect change in regard to the membership of the two senior managers or the Dublin city manager. What has the latter, who will be an ex officio member of the authority, to do with public transport in Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, south Dublin, Kildare, Meath or Wicklow? Why should he or she, who will be in situ for seven years, be a member of the authority? It is a joke. Who are the two senior managers and why should they be permanent members?

The Bill bestows significant powers on the authority. If we are to get a democratically representative body, it should certainly be given the teeth to deal with the serious problems we face in this area. However, there is no explanation as to why there will be four ex officio members of the authority while the Minister or one of his successors will appoint five other members. Who are these five people? None of them will have stood before the electorate. The only relevant consideration is that they have wide experience in relevant disciplines, for example, finance, transport and land use planning. That could be anybody. This body will have five people appointed by the Minister and four people in situ.

I am glad to see my dear colleague, Deputy Reilly, arriving into the Chamber. He has lost nearly all his hair and is going grey arguing about the downfall we are facing with the health service as a result of it being run by a body that is answerable to nobody. We are doing precisely the same with this authority. Five unknown people together with two managers, the Dublin city manager and the chief executive will have powers relating to planning and will be able to overturn the development plans of local authorities. That is not what I call democracy. It is frightening that the Minister should take this course.

Under section 26 of the Bill, the Minister may issue policy directions to the authority or a subsidiary regarding any of its functions, and the authority or subsidiary must comply with such directions or have regard to such guidelines. I do not know why this must be the case. Why does the Minister, as well as the authority, have powers? If the provision stated that the Minister had such powers after consultation with both Houses of the Oireachtas, I would have some faith. However, I believe we will encounter terrible difficulties with the set up of this authority. That is the reason I will be saddened to walk through the "No" lobby. We need a good authority with teeth that will change things and get things done but, for goodness sake, do not ask me to vote for a group of people who are answerable to nobody.

There is also the business of having another advisory council. I was first elected in politics in 1974, that is, 34 years ago, and I have been on many advisory councils and bodies in that 34 years. I eventually gave up participating in them because all one does is get frustrated. Advisory councils mean nothing; they become talking shops. What is being done with this advisory council? The Dublin city manager, who is a member of the authority, or an official of the Dublin City Council nominated by him will become a member of the advisory council. The Dublin city manager seems to be more important than the Taoiseach or the President with regard to traffic management. Some of the problems in Dublin city would lead one to ask questions as to some of the decisions that were taken at executive level and elsewhere over the years, which account for the mess in Dublin.

Among the general principles in the legislation, which I support, is the provision, at last, for integrated ticketing. I will refer briefly to some points I made previously about the use of public transport. I have lived in Dublin all my life with the exception of two or three years and I am fortunate to live in an area that has a DART service and a bus service. It is fine to have such services if one lives near them, but in the middle of winter if people must walk a mile and a half to a bus or DART service, they will take their car. They might drive to the nearest point where they can get the bus or train but the problem is parking.

I have long suggested that there should be a mini bus service, such as the old Imp service. That is where the private sector could get involved if the public sector is not prepared to do so. It is also an area where integrated ticketing is very important. A person should be able, within a reasonable walking distance of their home, to jump on an Imp bus which would connect with either a DART line or a main bus service. We will have to start thinking along these lines if we are to encourage people to use public transport. It is all very well if one lives next door to a DART station or a bus service but we must provide others with the means of accessing public transport. An integrated ticketing system is necessary in that regard.

Why does every double decker bus have to trundle through the centre of Dublin city? There should be a service running clockwise and anti-clockwise on a circular route in the city, whereby people could hop on and off buses using the same ticket. That would remove the double decker buses from the city centre. One need only travel down to O'Connell Street to see the blockages that occur. The 46A bus, for example, which serves Dún Laoghaire travels through Donnybrook and eventually reaches O'Connell Street. It goes up that street, around Parnell Square and back down O'Connell Street. Generally, there is nobody on either the top or bottom of the bus when it is travelling around Parnell Square and down O'Connell Street. Nobody can explain to me why that bus is caught up in traffic on O'Connell Street and then spends 20 to 30 minutes trundling around Parnell Square. I wish the Minister would listen because my point is worth noting.

See this speech in context