Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

-----we should wait until a decision is made.

It is not true to say the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government returned no observation. We held extensive discussions with that Department in regard to land use and transport nationally. The approach we adopted is a result of these discussions. As we proceed in this area, we will encounter resource and finance implications which cannot be met immediately but it is the intention in the Bill that land use and transport policies will be co-ordinated and the national transport authority will play a role in this.

The Government has not even seen the heads of a Bill on directly elected mayors and I cannot provide in this legislation for something that is not yet in existence. It is our intention, however, that a directly elected mayor will have a role in transport in the greater Dublin area.

Several Senators raised the issue of taxis. There was a time in this city and elsewhere around the country when it was impossible to get a taxi. The service was so bad that it affected our economic competitiveness. We now have a large number of taxis and the service has greatly improved. The current difficulties faced by taxi drivers are not solely due to the increase in the number of taxis. The general economic situation is affecting all businesses, including taxi services, and it would be wrong to take a knee-jerk reaction such as imposing a moratorium on licences. I acknowledge that certain issues need to be addressed. Senator Ellis and others raised the issue of people with other jobs cherry-picking lucrative hours. These issues have been subject to consultation and are being considered by the taxi regulator and the taxi advisory council. The regulator has made proposals for dealing with these issues and I will carefully consider the positive proposals I am confident will emerge.

Senators Ellis, Donohoe and O'Donovan raised the issue of licensing, which we will discuss in greater detail on Committee Stage. The principle is straightforward in that the same licensing regime will apply to everybody, unlike the present regime whereby a separate licence operates for public and private transport operators. It is important this message is sent. Although the CIE group of companies will continue to operate subsidised routes for an initial period, any new routes will be subject to open tender by the private sector. That is the level playing field we wish to create. A transition period of between two and five years will apply to ensure we continue to have an operational public transport system. It is not easy to change systems overnight, partly because those private operators who are interested in providing services would need time to make preparations.

A number of Senators mentioned the possibility of introducing an appeals mechanism in the context of licence applications. It is certainly a matter we can tease out, as it is an important one, as are the points made about the need for character references and full vetting of persons who provide public transport services. That is in place but we will see if we can make the provision a little clearer, or perhaps stronger, in the legislation.

On the issue raised by a number of Senators of making routes and the licensing system transparent and obvious to everybody, when we delve into the detail of the legislation on Committee Stage, Senators will find that, between them, the primary legislation and the guidelines to be issued will meet their requirements for openness and transparency.

A number of Senators, including Senator Quinn, raised questions on whether the NTA would be able to introduce an integrated ticketing system and whether there would be real-time passenger information etc. In both instances, the answer is yes; the NTA will be responsible in that regard. There is already real-time passenger information and we are well advanced with the integrated ticketing project, on which trials are starting. The system will be rolled out during the course of 2010.

When the Bill, under which the National Transport Authority will be established, is passed, Mr. John Fitzgerald who has been appointed chairman of the DTA will be chairperson of the new national authority. The chief executive of the DTA will become its chief executive. We are providing for these changes in the Bill.

I was asked whether the licences would be the same. They will be in the sense that the application and the guidelines to be applied in deciding on them will be the same. I take the point made by Senators about stipulating timeframes for the making of decisions; it is a matter at which we will look closely. Everything about the licence will be the same, as will the period of the licences. In that regard, I take the point made by Senator Ellis, that people must be assured of some economic return and that the period of the licence ought not be too short.

In answer to a point raised by Senator O'Malley, the Bill deals with predatory practices. A new regime of penalties for those found in breach of the licensing law is being put in place in the Bill. At present, it actually pays to ignore the law on bus service licensing. There are examples in this regard because the level of fines is so ridiculous.

To respond to a number of the points made by Senator Ryan, specifically on redesigning services, I have received positive reports from the Fingal area on the level of service provided and the flexibility shown by the new services in the absence of a rail service. That is exactly what I am trying to get Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to do on an ongoing basis, namely, to react to the market and provide services where they are needed. In this regard I seek the support of Members of the House. In fairness, there are changes being implemented following the Deloitte review such as changes to routes which will mean changes in the frequency of services, etc. That is what we need from the public transport system, namely, flexibility, not a belief that just because one has been operating on a particular route for the past 25 years one should not be discommoded by having to take in 500 new houses in an estate. Flexibility, responding to the customer-----