Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has made it clear he wants a level playing field between the public and private sector. However, Senator Ryan and his party colleagues have concerns in this regard. The Minister is satisfied the provisions of the Bill, as drafted, make it clear that they apply to all licence applicants, both privately and publicly owned services, and offer no distinction between bus licence applications submitted by either private or public sector operators.

The need for the inclusion of the amendment is not well founded. It has been suggested the inclusion of such a provision might give rise to some doubt as to whether the substantive provisions of the Bill were based on the level playing field concept that the Minister has referred to as a starting point. If the amendment were accepted, it would set off the concerns raised by Senators Quinn, O'Malley and Cannon about unbalancing the legislation's provisions. Accepting the amendment would not contribute to good legislation.

The Bill's primary purpose is to establish a modern system for the licensing of commercial public bus passenger services and to promote regulated competition in the provision of licensed public bus passenger services on a national basis in the public interest. Some believe regulated competition is an inherently self-contradictory concept. There are, however, many successful such provisions at European level. Many of us will have seen such success in other European cities and aspire to having the same standard of public transport here. Part 2 was prepared on this basis. It establishes a new regulatory licensing regime that will apply to all commercial public bus services, including those provided by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus. It also features a modern set of criteria against which applications for licences will be considered. In this regard, section 10 sets down the factors to be taken into account by the authority when considering applications. These criteria have to be considered equally, regardless of whether it is a private or public sector applicant. Such considerations must be pursued, having regard to the general objectives of the authority provided for in section 10 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. This will be updated through a proposed amendment to section 28 of the Bill. These objectives also highlight the development of an integrated transport system and achieving regulated competition in the provision of licensed public bus passenger services in the public interest.

Bus stops and bus parking, issues raised by Senator Norris, are regulated by local authorities and the regulations enforced by the Garda and local authority traffic wardens. The issue is not pertinent to this legislation.