Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House. The Labour Party has been calling for this Bill for some time and though long overdue, it is welcome. The Dublin transport authority establishment team produced its report more than a year ago, in November 2006, but the publication of the Bill has been delayed until now. The DTA is a vital agency which should have been established much sooner and the delay in its establishment has had a very negative effect on the already traffic-congested greater Dublin area.

In the absence of such an agency, many essential projects have been delayed. Integrated ticketing, the green and red line Luas link-up, the integration of commercial and residential planning with transport needs planning and the slippage in major Transport 21 projects are some of the obvious examples. Phase 1 of the Navan rail link has had its completion date revised from 2009 to 2010. The completion date for the resignalling of the Maynooth line has been pushed back from 2009 to 2011. The completion date for metro north, which impacts on my constituency, has changed from 2012 to late 2014. The Tallaght to Citywest Luas extension has been revised from 2008 to 2010. The Connolly to docklands Luas has a revised completion date of 2009 rather than 2008 and the linking of the existing Dublin red and green Luas lines has been stalled indefinitely.

One of the principal functions of the DTA as outlined in the Bill in section 11 is to promote an integrated and accessible public transport network. Integration and accessibility are very important for Dublin transport. Provisions in the bill for the DTA to give binding directions in this regard to public transport agencies in the greater Dublin area and to acquire land for public transport services, if necessary, are also very welcome. Objectives in section 10 to increase the use of the public transport system and for increased recourse to cycling and walking as a means of transport are also to be welcomed.

Section 58 contains measures providing for the DTA to take over the implementation of the long delayed integrated ticketing system and section 61 proposes the development of an integrated public transport information scheme, a road user information system and a comprehensive traffic management plan for the greater Dublin area, which should improve the transport system. The provisions in section 50 for public transport service contracts and public service obligation measures should also greatly enhance public transport services for commuters.

Unfortunately, the Minister has not addressed the bus licensing issue clearly in the legislation and we will continue to rely on the outdated 1932 legislation in this regard. The Bill indicates that Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann will continue to provide existing public bus passenger services under the 1932 laws. The Minister said in his speech that other legislation will follow. I hope it does soon.

Under section 56, the Dublin Transport Authority is designated as a public transport operator of last resort that can provide passenger transport services if existing operators fail or are unwilling to meet the obligations and standards set out by the DTA. The Labour Party has long advocated an authority that is placed on a statutory basis, has real powers to oversee the development of transport infrastructure and services and is accountable to the citizens of the greater Dublin area. This is especially important given the DTA's proposed powerful new role as both the fares regulator and as a public transport services provider of last resort. As other Senators have noted it is disappointing that under section 17 there will be no directly elected representative on the board of the authority and only four councillors from the seven greater Dublin area local authorities on the DTA advisory council.

The complete failure to integrate transport needs properly with commercial and residential developments has been one of the worst aspects of planning and transport policy in recent decades. The Bill has a series of amendments in sections 82 to 96, inclusive, to the Planning and Development Act 2000 to ensure consistency between the authority's transport strategy and the various plans and guidelines produced by planning authorities within the greater Dublin area. I welcome these amendments. Many high density developments without adequate transport links have been developed in the past ten to 15 years. The people in north Dublin have suffered badly in this regard.

The Bill provides in sections 103 to 111, inclusive, for the dissolution of the Dublin Transportation Office, DTO, and the incorporation of its functions into the DTA. I commend the DTO on its work. Concerns remain, however, that there may be still some duplication and overlap of responsibilities and duties between the DTA and the Railway Procurement Agency which is not being incorporated into the DTA. I note the Minister's comments, I see his logic and I accept the validity of his reasons for not incorporating the agency at this stage.

Under section 3, the greater Dublin area is defined as the city of Dublin, the administrative counties of South Dublin, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, and such other areas as may be declared by order from time to time by the Minister for Transport. This definition should have included, if not the whole of County Louth, at least the town of Drogheda which is now such an integral part of the greater Dublin area that it is difficult to understand why it was not included. I await the Minister's comments on this matter and I hope he will reconsider this.

I welcome the Bill and look forward to its enactment with whatever amendments might come on Committee Stage. My colleague, Deputy Tommy Broughan, may have some amendments to propose in the other House. I look forward to the speedy delivery of the Bill's long-awaited commitments.

The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, asked for comments on the absorption of the Commission for Taxi Regulation into the DTA. It seems there is some logic to this but until I see the proposals, I do not care to comment further.