Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to present Parts 9 and 10 of this Bill for the consideration of the House. Following intensive work on the formal drafting by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and supported by my Department, the Bill was approved by Government for publication last Friday, 22 February.

As part of our preparations, we have been working with other Departments, EU member states, and the European Commission, and engaging with stakeholders. The European Commission has put forward a number of legislative proposals aimed at ensuring basic aviation and road connectivity in a no-deal scenario. However, it would be impossible in a no-deal scenario to maintain the almost seamless arrangements between the EU and UK which are currently facilitated by our common EU membership. If there is no deal, then a wide range of EU rules in the field of air, road, rail and maritime transport will no longer apply to the UK. If there is no EU-UK agreement, additional customs, agriculture, and health controls will be required at ports and airports that trade with the UK. The Office of Public Works, OPW, has been tasked with delivering the required facilities for these checks at Dublin and Rosslare ports and at Dublin Airport. This work is ongoing. There is also significant capital investment ongoing within our key ports and airports.

A number of Deputies yesterday raised concerns over driving licences. If the UK leaves the EU with no deal, the UK will no longer be part of EU directives governing this area. Visitors to Ireland with UK driving licences can still drive on their UK licence for up to 12 months in Ireland. However, people who are resident in Ireland and using a UK driving licence should seek to exchange their UK licence for an Irish licence before 29 March 2019. We are working to put in place alternative arrangements post Brexit.

On the provisions of the Bill, Part 9 refers to the issue of harbour pilotage exemption certificates, PECs. Pilotage involves a requirement for a certified pilot to board a vessel to guide it safely into, around or out of a port. Part 9, which amends the Harbours Act 1996, was developed to address concerns that PECs which have been issued to seafarers holding UK certificates of competency may no longer be valid or may very quickly become invalid following Brexit. The heads in Part 9 propose amendments to the part of the Harbours Act 1996 which relates to pilotage exemption certificates. Part 9 is divided into three sections, namely, sections 68 to 70, inclusive. Section 68 is a standard provision providing a definition for the Harbours Act 1996 for the purposes of this part. Section 69 amends section 72 of the Harbours Act 1996 to extend the period of validity of PECs from one year to a maximum of three years. Holders of existing PECs may apply for new certificates in the period leading up to 29 March 2019, notwithstanding the fact that their PECs may not have expired. Section 70 amends Part 2 of the Sixth Schedule to the Harbours Act 1996 to enable a harbour authority through its by-laws to require the holder of a PEC of more than one year’s duration to undergo a periodic review to ensure continued compliance with the requirements, that is, the skills, knowledge, and experience to pilot their ship safely in the harbour company’s pilotage district.

Part 10 sets out the changes proposed in primary legislation to cover the future continuation of bus services between Ireland and the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The new provisions will ensure continued connectivity for cross-Border bus services and, in doing so, help to support the needs of businesses and the surrounding communities. This is important in the context of maintaining linkages between people and communities on both sides of the Border. This is particularly significant for those living in rural Border county communities. This Part will give new powers to the National Transport Authority, NTA, relating to bus services travelling to and from a third country, such as the UK will become. Once the UK leaves the EU, Ireland will be permitted to enter into a bilateral agreement with the UK for bus and coach services so long as no existing bus agreement exists between the UK and the EU. Part 10 lays out the rules with which a competent authority can regulate services to and from a third country. These rules can be considered once Ireland begins formal negotiations on a bus bilateral with the UK. The NTA is Ireland's competent authority for regulating bus services with other member states. This Bill will make the NTA the competent authority similarly to regulate third country bus services. The intention of this Part is to maintain the existing regulatory regime for bus services between Ireland and the UK. To achieve this, Part 10 proposes amendments to the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, the Road Transport Act 1978, and the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. Part 10 is in five sections, namely, sections 71 to 75, inclusive. I will talk through each of these sections in turn.

Section 71 is a standard provision providing a definition for the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 for the purposes of this Part. Section 72 gives a new regulation-making power under the Road Transport Act 1978 relating to bus operator licensing documentation issued in a third country. The section provides that a ministerial order may be made to exempt certain international licences from certain national licences or to declare a licence granted in a third country to be what we call in Irish law an “international road passenger transport operator's licence”. This will enable operators who are licensed in a third country to provide cross-Border bus services. Should such an order be made, these operators will still be subject to holding other documentation as discussed in section 75 of this Act. Section 73 amends the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 to expand the statutory functions of the NTA to regulate third country bus services. Section 74 is a standard provision to amend the definition of "international service" in the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 to update EU Regulation No. 684/92 of 18 March 1992 on common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus referenced within it. Section 75 provides for the insertion of a new Part 2A in the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009. The new provisions will allow for the licensing by NTA of third country bus services and provide for offences where an operator provides services which do not comply with those provisions. It will also allow for the NTA to act where it receives notice from a third country body of an application for the licensing of third country bus services. I would like to highlight that these provisions were developed as a precautionary measure and may not be needed in the event of an orderly withdrawal or if alternative measures are agreed at EU level or in another international context.

Rail services also form part of our contingency plans. We are aware of the strategic importance on both sides of the Border of maintaining the linkages between people, communities and businesses across the Border. I know that larnród Éireann and Northern Irish Railways are working together intensively such that I am confident that the Enterprise train service will continue to run post Brexit. My Department continues to engage actively with wider stakeholders, including the Commission for Railway Regulation and the NTA, as well as with the European Commission to ensure that contingency plans are agreed and advanced. These discussions have served to underline the importance of consistently complying with EU law while exploring and searching for pragmatic solutions. Some issues are being considered at an operational level and there may be practical answers emerging at different levels. The original proposal was to use the Bill to transpose elements of EU rail law which would allow for a future rail bilateral. In the interim, advice from the Office of the Attorney General indicated that primary legislation would not be necessary and to proceed using secondary legislation. Work is continuing to prepare for a rail bilateral and to develop the necessary draft secondary legislation. The priority is to ensure that the Enterprise train service continues to run.

It is the intention of these Parts to provide for robust primary legislation which will help ensure the future continuation of bus services between Ireland and the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and to ensure that ferries can continue to operate efficiently and with quick turnaround times at relevant ports without unnecessary delays. I take this opportunity to thank the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for its dedication and tireless work in drafting this critically important primary legislation. I would like to highlight for Deputies also that I will be proposing a small number of technical amendments on Committee Stage. I look forward to hearing the views of the Deputies and I commend this Bill to the House.

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