Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Transport the additional performance indicators which will be included in the contracts and MoUs for each of CIE company for 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45963/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The contracts relating to the public service obligation services provided by the CIÉ companies are a matter for the National Transport Authority. The contracts which have been concluded by the NTA with the three CIE companies cover, inter alia, the quantity and quality of services to be provided, payment of compensation for the provisions of these services, performance and reporting obligations, the right of the NTA to review, amend, and alter the contracts, and the step-in rights of the NTA.

The contracts include a range of performance obligations including, for example, with bus services the number of vehicles to be in service in peak and off-peak times, the passenger capacity to be provided, the number of services cancelled, scheduled kilometres operated, and requirements relating to customer service and information. The contracts relating to rail passenger services contain performance obligations relating to the frequency and capacity of services by route, punctuality, customer service and information. In addition, the contracts require that all three companies report on a range of operational and financial matters relating to the provision of services.

The contracts strengthen the position of the funding authority compared to the memoranda of understanding which previously set out the performance obligations. The NTA will be clearer about the reporting and monitoring arrangements to apply and the role of the NTA in approving changes to the services. The details of the PSO services to be provided in 2010 will, in accordance with the terms of the contract, be agreed between the NTA and the three CIE companies, having regard to the Exchequer subvention for CIE in 2010 and projected fare revenue.

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Will this include fares? Fares for school transport have increased by 203%. What provisions will the Minister have to rein in such fare increases?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Neither the Department of Transport nor the NTA would have any role in the setting of fees for school transport. The companies will make their submissions to the NTA in the normal way, and that will be taken into account.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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A key issue not involved in these memoranda of understanding or new contracts is the taking into account of commuters' views. The Minister should insist that commuters should be consulted, particularly where timetables have been changed very recently. On the northern line, trains now take longer to get to Dublin and people are extremely angry that there are more stops on the route. There was no consultation about changes and trains do not connect as they used to. There is a disparity of rights as well; if a person travels from north of Balbriggan into Dublin, the ticket terminates at Pearse Street but if a person travels from Balbriggan to Dublin, the commuter can travel anywhere on the internal rail and bus network in Dublin. Will the Minister include regular consultation with commuters, particularly before timetables change?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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That is a commercial matter for the company. The NTA will be able to specify in the contracts it signs the services required, the frequency of such services and if consumers have particular views and so on apart from raising a matter with the company, they will have the power to write to the NTA. The authority will have the right and obligation to take into account those matters in assessing the performance of the company against the contract signed.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Will the memoranda of understanding relating to private transport operators include high standards for the quality of vehicle fleets? Is accessibility an aspect the new transport authority will be keen on? I support Deputy O'Dowd's point on passengers. When the Bill went through the House a few weeks ago the Labour Party tried to add a section for a passengers' champion. This would be an official within the National Transport Authority who would speak up for passengers and be accessible to them. Will that be put to the chairman, Mr. John Fitzgerald, when the Minister meets him?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I expect the NTA to be a champion for the consumer and passenger. It is there to regulate services and to set standards to ensure transport companies deliver on their commitments under contract. The Deputy also raised the matter of fleet standards and, as I indicated, the health and safety aspects will be dealt with under legislation for the road transport operators' licence.

The reality of commercial services competing with public services is that any new PSO contracts will have to be advertised. A company which does not have high standards operating in its fleet will not be able to compete and will go out of business. The best guarantee for consumers is a level playing field on which providers will have to compete.