Results 1,861-1,880 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (23 Sep 2009)

Tony Killeen: I am grateful to the Deputy for trying to help me with an extraneous matter. Another question people frequently ask is how it is possible to invest money in the banks at a time when investment must be cut in many other areas, including services and so on. Gradually, as the debate has advanced, people have come to realise that while all elements of an economy are interconnected, the...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: It is a requirement in law that a bus operator hold a valid road passenger transport operator's licence. It was brought to the Minister's attention in the discussions in the Chamber on Second Stage and elsewhere that it is currently not the case that an individual who has his road passenger transport operator's licence revoked automatically has his bus licence revoked. The point was made...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The difference between "contract" and "licence" in this Bill is that in the case of a contract, there is a public service obligation; in other words it is a loss-making service. A licence applies to commercial services, which is an important distinction in the 2008 Bill and continues in this one. I understand the point being made by Senator Cannon, which is slightly different and perhaps...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has made it clear he wants a level playing field between the public and private sector. However, Senator Ryan and his party colleagues have concerns in this regard. The Minister is satisfied the provisions of the Bill, as drafted, make it clear that they apply to all licence applicants, both privately and publicly owned services, and offer no...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: Section 10 establishes a set of general provisions which will inform the consideration of applications for bus licences by the authority. Section 10(1)(b) sets out 11 matters which the authority may consider. It is important to remember that not all of these may be pertinent to particular applications. In the case of certain categories, the consideration of all, or any of these matters,...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: Many aspects of the legislation are enabling. For example, section 23 requires the authority to consider and prepare guidelines against many of the considerations which are of concern to Senator Ryan. It is difficult in primary legislation of this nature to provide all of the detail which the authority would need to consider. The 11 considerations set out in the Bill are, in the Minister's...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The existing provisions of section 10(2) of the Bill allow the authority to consider submissions from or on behalf of a licensed applicant, to invite submissions or information from the applicant or any other party and to examine any other matter it deems relevant to the public interest. These provisions are such to facilitate the invitation and consideration of submissions from any local...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: Senator Bacik is partially correct, at least with regard to my likely reply. Section 10(3) provides that it is a prerequisite for the consideration of an application that the applicant must establish that he or she has the capacity to provide the proposed bus service to which the application refers, that he or she has complied with relevant national and international legislation and that he...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: Consolidated legislation of the kind referred to by the Senator is often desirable and fairly difficult to achieve in many instances. I was honoured to bring the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 through the Oireachtas. The provisions of that legislation have stood up very well and the inspectorate does its job well. We are well served in that regard. The road passenger...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The intent of this section does not relate to competition matters, which are of concern to Senators Quinn, O'Malley and Cannon. It relates to a case where, for example, there is an existing service at 9 a.m. and an application for one or more services at exactly the same time on exactly the same route. The authority, on foot of this provision, has the capacity to take account of the...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: I will convey to the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, the concerns expressed by Senators on both sides of the House regarding the overall impact of the section and how one element balances against another. It is important we remember Senator Norris's points on the types of services and difficulties we had in the less regulated market of the 1930s. It is also important to remember that the Bill...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: Section 13 provides that the authority may apply conditions to the grant of either an original, amended or renewed bus licence. Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1), subsection (2) sets out a series of specific areas relating to the licence holder's provision of a service, ticketing, number of vehicles, accessibility and emissions standards in respect of which conditions may be...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: It is a commercial decision.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: This discretion is allowed to the authority, given that in some instances such as the ploughing championships of two weeks ago or a concert, a service might be provided for two or three days. "May" allows the authority discretion to separate one-off or somewhat temporary events from permanent services.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: I was not entirely clear prior to the Senator's contribution about the rationale for the amendment. Section 24 provides that offences under the bus licensing regime can be prosecuted by the authority or by a member of the Garda Síochána. This recognised the general enforcement role of the Garda Síochána in regard to breaches of legislation in the State and is highly appropriate,...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: While the provisions of section 20 set out arrangements through which existing commercial services being operated by Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and private operators can be brought within the new licensing regime, it came to the attention of the Department in the course of recent discussions that a further provision was desirable to cater for bus licence applications that may be submitted to...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The expectation would be that the period would be very short and in this instance there may well be slightly more advantage for people to apply under the new regime. Regarding ceasing taking all new applications, applications for urgent services unfortunately do arise and would surely arise in the interim period. The Department has much experience in these matters and would see spurious...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The number of sections of the 1932 Act to be disposed of has increased from 69 to 73. The purpose of the amendment is to repeal a number of additional sections of the Road Transport Act 1933 which are no longer needed arising from the new legislative regime for public bus passenger services in Part 2 of the Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009. I will list them for the House. Section 66 of...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: The purpose of this amendment is to address a technical error in the section reference in the text of the Bill which should refer to section 11(1) of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 rather than section 11, which is what is in the text.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Tony Killeen: This proposed amendment seeks to clarify the provision of section 28(1)(f) of the Bill. This section provides for the amendment of section 48 of the Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008 which relates to the making of public transport services contracts so as to introduce a new subsection (12). This provides that the authority must advise any local authority in whose functional area the...