Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, and thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. The agreed programme for Government includes a commitment to replace the Road Transport Act 1932 with modernised legislation to allow, inter alia, for new services in the bus market. There have been some reforms in the Dublin Bus market and the establishment of the Dublin Transport Authority should facilitate further reform. Commuters should be able to enjoy the choices afforded by competition in the bus market. However, I note from the legislative programme that the heads of the Bill are still awaiting approval by the Government. This inertia in a vital aspect of the programme for Government is unacceptable.

The bus licensing system is not delivering for commuters but for the bus provider, namely, Bus Éireann. It reflects poorly on the Department of Transport that it is the main shareholder of Bus Éireann and also the licensing authority for new bus routes. Some 700 licences are awaiting approval by the Department. When a licence is eventually approved, usually 12 months after application, it is valid only for one year and must be reapplied for when it expiries. For any operator such as Morton's, applying for a licence involves a large investment and commitment. The licensing system must be amended to allow for a minimum period of three years, up to five years. This would allow proper investment to take place.

When applying for a licence, operators must prove they will not affect a current operator. Ridiculous attachments are made such as prohibitions on picking up passengers at certain points and extensions to routes. Overall, this makes the route system highly inefficient for users. Bus Éireann may have a bus stop at one point and within one foot of it another bus stop must be provided at enormous cost to a private operator. Bus stops must become part of the infrastructure and be owned by an authority other than Bus Éireann. Proper bus shelters and hard-stands must be provided at every bus stop to make it comfortable and accessible for commuters to use public transport. It is unacceptable that the Road Transport Act 1932 has not been addressed in An Agreed Programme for Government.