Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

The previous legislation dealt with the Dublin transport authority. Many Governments in the past have spoken about the need to reform the 1932 Act. It could have been dealt with in the Dublin Transport Authority Bill but it was considered best to deal with the DTA first and then deal with the fundamental issue. The energies of the Department have been focused on the Dublin Transport Authority Bill, which is due to go through Report Stage in the Dáil this week. It is then the intention to draft an all-embracing reform of the 1932 Act, something that has been talked about by many Ministers over the years. The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, considers it interlinked with the DTA although the reform of the 1932 Act will cover the entire country. That will be the focus of attention when the Dublin Transport Authority Bill is passed, as the same staff will have to deal with it.

The other issue mentioned by the Senator is the delay in responding to applications. Both Dublin Bus and the private operators complain about slowness in the Department but much of that slowness is because there is already another operator on the route. Regardless of whether it is an application from a private operator or Dublin Bus, if somebody else is providing a service on that route there is a problem. If there is nobody else on the route, matters should move more quickly. In the past Dublin Bus has complained bitterly in some cases, such as in the case of the port tunnel, while the private operators have complained in other cases. It is due to the fact that somebody else is providing services on a significant portion of the route. In this case, however, if there is no other private operator providing a service, the process should be faster.