Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

Clearly, this measure should have been before us long before now, yet it only reached the Dáil last week. If we do not pass this legislation we will end up in a virtual limbo in terms of transport regulation. We will not allow that to happen of course, so I assure the Minister that my party will facilitate the passage of the Bill. I wish to record our unhappiness, however, that it has been allowed to drag on to this extent. It bodes ill if Government Departments get into the habit of waiting until almost the last minute to produce legislation. It is almost like putting a gun to the head of the Dáil and Seanad, and saying, "We have to pass this, or we're in difficulty".

Having said that, I support the legislation and welcome the Minister's commitment to introducing a more comprehensive Bill on the transport system. I look forward to that, at which time, hopefully, we will be able to raise quite a number of extra issues that will not come under the remit of tonight's debate.

This Bill, which derives from EU regulation No. 107123, creates the backdrop to this debate and replaces certain directives. In general, it is an improved situation which strengthens and enhances the supervision of the transport sector, which is to be welcomed for a number of specific reasons. It is important that a sector as vital to the domestic economy as transport is seen to be properly regulated. Any strengthening in that regard must be welcomed. The public need to have trust and confidence in the public transport system, both for passengers and goods. The Bill should certainly go a long way towards that.

I also welcome the fact that the register of operators will be available on-line, and that the Minister seems to be committed to progressing that. I would like to see more Departments taking up that because the more information to which the public can have access, the better. There is nothing to hide and everything to gain from the public knowing as much as possible about who is in charge of transport movements and who is driving the logistics, if Members will pardon the pun.

While there are rogue operators in every walk of life, they should not be allowed to piggyback on legitimate, law-abiding business people by undercutting, and therefore undermining, legitimate business. I welcome the Minister's commitment to ensuring that will not happen.

The concept of good repute is central to the Bill. We all support a situation whereby a Minister would have all the information available to him or her about characters either involved in driving or managing transport operations before granting a licence. I hope, however, the Minister of the day would not automatically deny an operating licence because a person has had a criminal conviction and has served time. The Minister should clarify that point.

Nobody could envisage any possibility of a convicted sex offender or paedophile driving a bus or getting involved in school transport. That is out of the question. None the less, somebody convicted of manslaughter or a crime of passion may have served his time and been rehabilitated in the penal system. Having come forward and entered into gainful employment, there is every possibility that the individual would be found suitable to be entrusted with work in the transport sector. Will the Minister confirm that the provision of authority to get information is contained in the Bill, and also the ability to act on it while not necessarily being tied by it?

I welcome that the Garda and transport officers will have an easier job in detecting licensing offences and in taking necessary steps in cases of infringement. I do not need to go over the statistics for the transport sector as the Minister referred to them. We have 7,000 licensed operators, involving approximately 25,000 vehicles, with more than 50,000 people employed in the sector between drivers, mechanics, warehousing personnel and administrative people. Transport is the sinew of all business, which cannot survive without a proper transport system for suppliers, deliveries and so on.

I like the way the Minister is categorising the different people involved in the sector to whom licensing will apply. The relevant people include drivers, directors and partners, and the legislation is quite clear. I have received correspondence from the Irish Road Haulage Association, which seems to be rather sceptical of the swingeing fine of €500,000 or three years imprisonment. It is of the opinion that this will not happen and no judge in his right mind would impose such penalties. What is the Minister's response? Are we putting into law unrealistic penalties which might in some way undermine the integrity of the Bill?

I would like to see the Minister building on the website information. I wish we could fast-forward to a day when our Garda patrol cars could be equipped with an Internet facility and would be able to go online if gardaí are engaging with a bus or truck driver. They would be in a position to have all the information they want online and this would reduce the need for the provision in the Bill for people to produce licences. We might put a stop to the paper trail not only in this instance but with driving licences, insurance, national car tests, etc. The more we can do this online with Garda technology, the more logical the work will be.

The Minister referred to exemptions, which are interesting. In the Dáil my colleague, Deputy Timmy Dooley, referred to exemptions which previously obtained with regard to agri-transport. I did not have time to see what the response was so I will repeat the Deputy's question. Under the old dispensation, transport of cattle, sheep, milk products to or from a creamery, turf and freshly harvested oats and barley were exempt but such exemptions are not specified in this Bill.

Another concern for the Irish Road Haulage Association and speakers here is own account transport operations, which are responsible for 65% of total transport in the country. Why do they not come under the terms of the Bill and is there a particular reason they should not be subject to regulation, supervision and licensing? I confess that the term "cabotage" was not in my lexicon until recently but having looked it up in the dictionary, I now understand what it means. It sounded like something done to a taxi driver late at night if he was going the wrong direction. It is obviously not within the remit of the Bill to discuss it, which I accept, but it is a serious problem for Irish transport business and puts it at a serious disadvantage with regard to other countries because we are an island nation. I hope the Minister will address the issue in the legislation he referred to.

There is not much more to say. Cost is a significant factor in the success or otherwise of a transport enterprise. We have seen from one of the many inspired leaks from Cabinet, of which the country is terrified, that there is reference to the increased cost of diesel and petrol duty, VAT and carbon taxes. That will drive costs higher for operators and bring about job losses. As the Minister also deals with tourism he might be interested to know that it might mitigate against moving tourists from cities such as Dublin to the rural regions like Kerry and Donegal. If transport costs are to be high, it will be another negative factor.

I look forward to the prospect of the Minister introducing some additional comprehensive legislation for taxi regulation, although it is not relevant to this Bill. The issue could be reviewed. I welcome the Bill generally and commend the Minister.