Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I want to talk today about the Patton Flyer, which is the magic bus of the 21st century. The Minister may be old enough to remember the song of that name released by The Who back in 1968. It is an excellent bus service that carries passengers from Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown to and from Dublin Airport. The people of these areas want to see the service retained. I put this in the context of the Department of Transport's development of a sustainable transport and travel action plan, one of the purposes of which is to encourage people to use buses more. This bus serves areas that have no alternative bus or rail links to the airport. It is a punctual, well operated service that is invaluable to residents. I used the service on the one occasion I went to Dublin Airport in the past year, but many of my constituents use it on a regular basis, not just to catch flights but because they work at Dublin Airport and want to get there without driving.

The bus uses the port tunnel and serves the county town of Dún Laoghaire, which has no other service to the airport. There is the Aircoach service that goes from Greystones to the airport via Bray, Shankill, Blackrock, Booterstown and Sandymount, but the Patton Flyer is the only service that connects Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown with Dublin Airport. Dublin Bus runs the 4A service, but this starts at Blackrock and goes to Harristown bus depot, which is adjacent to the main runway at the airport but is miles from the departure building.

Dún Laoghaire has a population of 26,000, which is not far off the population of Leitrim at 29,000. Imagine if we were to cut Leitrim off from all bus services. The lack of services to Dún Laoghaire has the same effect of making it difficult for people to travel. The problem here is the licensing procedure. Operators must wait months for a licence to be issued and if it is refused they are in contravention of the legislation. I note that the Department of Transport has referred the matter to the Garda for non-compliance with the legislation, and the matter now rests with the Garda. It is a strange that a bus operator who provides a much-needed service is deemed to be operating illegally. This is at a time when we are trying to encourage more people to use buses and public transport to achieve sustainable travel. We are making it extremely difficult for people to provide these services even though they have taken a considerable business risk.

I note that there is another private bus operator in the north Dublin area who had to wait two and a half years for a decision on a licence application. The root cause of this is the outdated 1932 Road Transport Act under which licences are issued. Under that Act, which dates from more than three quarters of a century ago, an operator can be fined the heady sum of £50 for running an unlicensed service, plus £5 per day for repeat offences. This equates to €7.50 per day. This legislation must be modernised.

I carry no brief for Dublin Bus, Aircoach or the Patton Flyer. Today is not the time to argue about the merits of public and private bus services. However, I do carry a mandate from the people of Dún Laoghaire. They want a service to the airport that is efficient and reliable and that does the job. Dublin Bus does a good job and has risen to the challenge of providing new routes in certain areas, but the private sector has provided some excellent new services and deserves support where it is innovative and responds to travellers' needs. Let us modernise the legislation, speed up the processing of applications and have a clear and transparent system. Let us reform the antiquated legislation and continue to provide a necessary service via the Patton Flyer to the people of Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown.

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for proposing this Adjournment matter, which I take on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey.

The Road Transport Act 1932, as amended, provides the statutory basis for regulating the provision of public bus services by private bus operators. In accordance with the legislation, private bus operators apply to the Department of Transport for licences to operate scheduled bus passenger services within the State. Section 11 of the Act establishes specific criteria for the determination of applications, which provide that the service is required in the public interest having regard to the passenger road services and other forms of passenger transport available to the public on or in the neighbourhood of the route of the proposed service, whether the service is sufficient in terms of frequency and duration to meet the requirements of the public and whether the applicant has the organisation and equipment necessary to carry out the service.

There are no undue delays with the processing of either licence applications from private operators or notifications from State companies. The Department turns around straightforward applications within a matter of weeks. However, where there are prior applications for licences from other private operators or notifications from State companies, a decision on an application must be deferred until such time as the prior applications have been decided. In these cases, while the preliminary work may have been completed on a particular application, a final decision cannot be made until other relevant applications or notifications received prior to it have been finalised. In other cases, the application process can be delayed where relevant information is not provided by an applicant, such as an updated road passenger transport operator's licence, current public service vehicle licences and approvals from the Garda under the Road Traffic Acts for pick-up and-or set-down points. All applications and notifications are assessed by the Department on receipt and decisions made as to whether they can be issued promptly or deferred for the reasons mentioned above. Applicants are advised accordingly.

On 20 February 2007, the Department received an application from the operator concerned for a licence to operate bus passenger services between Dalkey and Dublin Airport. At that time, the Department advised the applicant that the application was being held until such time as a decision on a prior application for services on a similar route from another private operator had been determined. The prior application has been finalised and the licence issued to Aircoach for the provision of bus passenger services between Greystones and Dublin Airport. The licensed service also caters for passengers travelling from the areas of Bray and Blackrock and is meeting the needs of passengers by providing an express service via the port tunnel to Dublin Airport.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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It does not meet the needs of the people of Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey or Monkstown.

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I will bring that matter to the attention of the Minister.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The Department understands from the licence holder that the service has been introduced and the frequency shall be increased in the coming months.

On 16 July 2007, the Department was made aware that the operator concerned had commenced the operation of an unlicensed bus passenger service between Dalkey and Dublin Airport. The Department immediately contacted the company and advised that failure to cease the operation of a service in respect of which a licence had not been issued under the Road Transport Act 1932 is an offence under section 7 of that Act. It is also a prerequisite to the issuing of a licence that, in accordance with road traffic legislation and safety, the applicant provides the Department with Garda approvals for all proposed bus stops along the route. No bus stop approvals have been received by the Department for any of the stops being utilised on the service in question. As the unauthorised service continued to operate, the Department advised the company that the matter was being passed to the Garda Síochána for its investigation. This matter is currently the subject of an ongoing Garda investigation. I assure the Deputy that I will raise the matter of transport in Dún Laoghaire with the Minister.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I am much obliged.