Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to reply to the matter raised by the Senator. Under the Road Transport Act 1932, Dublin Bus is not required to apply to the Department of Transport for a licence to operate a proposed service or alter an existing one. However, since 10 January 2001, the company is required to notify the Department of proposed new services or proposed changes to existing services at least four weeks prior to their introduction. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure a level playing field between Dublin Bus and private operators in the authorisation of services.

Most notifications are cleared quickly by the Department. However, where a proposal by Dublin Bus conflicts with a prior licence application made by a private operator, Dublin Bus is required by the Department to suspend the introduction of the proposed service until the licence application has been processed. It appears that the difficulty referred to by the Senator has arisen because of the licences awarded to private operators who may not have taken them up.