Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The amendment provides for the potential to establish a levy on applications for licences. As stated, section 12 gives the authority to determine the fees to be charged for bus licence applications under the Bill. The fees are not refundable and will be used to defray the expenses of the authority. They will also apply to everyone who applies for a licence.

Section 12(4) proposes that the fees imposed for licences "shall be applied for the purpose of meeting the expenses properly incurred by the Authority in the discharge of its functions." The Bill adequately covers the point made by the Deputy. The introduction, as proposed, of a levy to meet the cost of processing licences in addition to a fee structure could be open to challenge on the basis that it may be construed as a tax. It is not permitted to impose such a tax in legislation of this nature. As I outlined, I cannot accept the amendment for this reason. However, it is expected that the authority will apply appropriate fees which will maintain a balance. As it will discharge a number of different functions, the authority will obviously need to meet its costs.

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