Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 8, to delete lines 33 to 38.

These amendments deal with the general provisions for the consideration of an application for the grant of licences. Section 10(1)(a) states that the regulator:

shall take account of the demand or potential demand that exists for the public bus passenger services to which the application refers having regard to the needs of consumers and any existing public bus passenger services on or in the vicinity of the route to be served by the proposed public bus passenger services,

The core issue with this is the problem with measuring demand. People in the transport business would say that it is up to the promoters of a route to come forward with proposals that are then assessed and in that context it would be better not to have this section at all. The Minister considers that a reference to the needs of consumers is important but there are some people who consider that it is up to the companies themselves, and that it is not the regulator's business to assess the demand for the service. It is up to promoters, entrepreneurs and existing companies to come forward with ideas. That is the rationale behind amendment No. 13.

Amendment No.14 provides an alternative to section 10(1)(a) and I will press it, having listened to what the Minister said on Committee Stage last Friday. I wish to add the phrase "the sustainability of the demand or the potential sustainable demand". The idea of sustainability is a key element of demand measurement. In other words, promoters need to show that the demand for a service will exist. In my own constituency, a private company known as AerDart was launched by local businessmen and provided a service between Kilbarrack station, Howth Junction station and Dublin Airport. It had infrastructure, including its own bus stops and so on. The company was sold to a UK operator and suddenly disappeared. There was some demand on the route, but from observing the buses as they went back and forth, there was not a sustainable demand for it.

We have been referring to new suburbs in west and north Dublin. Generally, I found Dublin Bus to be very good at responding to the needs of the new communities and new residents in the North Fringe, where a new town is being built. We got a fine new cross-city service, the No. 128, which is very sustainable because new residents and existing families are using it.

Sustainability is one of the words of our time. When we come out of the current crisis, we should have a sustainable economic programme for our country so that we do not get into difficulties over the next few years due to unsustainable and unregulated development. We are trying to regulate a new bus market and in this regard the word "sustainable" would be a valuable addition to the Bill. The Minister knows what I mean and I can give him two examples where there was no sustainable demand and an example where there was sustainable demand. We know what it is when we see it, and it should be in the Bill.

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