Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Transport the stage of the process of recruiting a chief executive officer for the Dublin Transport Authority; when the DTA will be fully operational; the way the Dublin Transportation Office will be absorbed by the new DTA Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39861/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I intend to establish the Dublin Transport Authority as early as possible in 2009 once I am satisfied it has the financial and staffing resources necessary to enable it effectively discharge the functions assigned to it by the Oireachtas under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008.

Discussions are taking place between my Department and the Department of Finance on the financing and staffing of the authority against the background of the difficult position faced by the Exchequer outlined in the recent budget. The process of appointing a chief executive designate of the new authority will commence once those discussions have been finalised.

Part 6 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 provides for the dissolution of the Dublin Transportation Office and the transfer of its employees to the Dublin Transport Authority in accordance with the detailed arrangements set out in that Part of the Act.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Will the search for the new chief executive officer of the DTA involve an international competition? Will the search for a very experienced transport person be as wide as possible? The Minister referred to the budget. Is there a decision about the parameters, such as the salary package, available to the chief executive and other senior positions in the new authority? How many staff will work for the organisation? Is there a decision on where the headquarters will be placed? When will the new authority be operational?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Transport will not conduct the search for the chief executive, it will be a matter for the Public Appointments Service. I have instructed officials in my Department to seek the best person for the job and to spread the net as wide as possible to recruit the very best person. The salary range for the post is governed by the scales set by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration and the Hay group. The number of staff is subject to discussion and negotiation with the Department of Finance. Several staff will move from the Dublin Transportation Office, some will move from the integrated ticketing project and some will move from the Railway Procurement Agency.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Will there be 150 people involved?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I do not wish to be held to a figure, but I estimate some 100 staff will be involved.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I refer to the remit of the DTA. Is it intended that the new authority will become a national regulator since the budget was announced? Will it become the regulator for the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's constituency and the entire country, not just the Dublin region? I am aware it is intended that the new authority will absorb the Taxi Regulator. Will this happen early next year?

An editorial in the Irish Independent today called on the Minister for Transport to buy more buses following the report of the Dublin Transportation Office on quality bus corridors. The report suggested there is a deficit of between 300 to 500 buses in the greater Dublin region. Given the situation arising from the budget, what does the Minister intend to do to address this need and to address ongoing gridlock?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I forgot to mention absorption of the Taxi Regulator into the new authority. During the debate on the DTA Bill, Deputy O'Dowd suggested the remit of the new authority should be extended. I have considered the matter and although initially I intended to proceed in three stages, namely, to introduce the DTA Bill, to amend the 1932 Act and then provide for a national regulator, I now intend to compact the final two stages into one and create a national transport regulator.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Will it be called the Irish Transport Authority?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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It will be the national transport authority. Regarding the newspaper report, I do not know what qualifications the newspaper editorial writer can call on to tell me to buy more buses——

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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He is probably the only remaining member of the Progressive Democrats.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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He may be a socialist.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I have always maintained that we must ensure we use the existing fleet efficiently. In the coming weeks I hope to find out whether this is the case.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Not alone should we use the existing State bus fleet efficiently, we should bring in the private operators also to meet the demand which clearly exists. I refer to the DTA and fare structures. It emerged during the debate on the DTA Bill that the new authority can identify transport trains originating outside of the Dublin area which are deemed to be fare-controlled by the authority. A number of what is termed "promotional fare" increases are due from Iarnród Éireann. Will the DTA be able to deal with these increases? There are many inequalities and injustices in the fare system. Locations equidistant from Dublin pay widely differing fares and there is no uniformity. Commuters, especially those north of Dublin in counties Meath and Louth suffer greatly. A commuter pays a Dublin fare as far as Balbriggan, however when one goes beyond Balbriggan to Louth or Meath one pays through the nose, which is unfair. Iarnród Éireann has refused to deal with this matter.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The question is whether the DTA will have powers to examine this matter and the answer is "Yes".