Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 473: To ask the Minister for Transport the powers enjoyed by him under Section 25(1) and (2) of the Transport Act 1958; the number of times this provision has been exercised by him for each of the past five years and to date in 2006; the names and routes of operators to which it was applied and which were awarded licences under the provision; the criteria and procedures applied by him in respect of a decision by him to utilise Section 25(1) and (2) of the 1958 Act in respect of the licensing of bus services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26267/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Section 25 (1) of the Transport Act 1958 provides that the consent of the Minister for Transport is required where either Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus wish to introduce or alter a passenger road service where such service would compete with a licensed passenger road service provided by a private bus operator. In accordance with section 25 (2), the decision made by the Minister under section 25 (1) is final. Services provided by private bus operators are licensed under the Road Transport Act, 1932.

In the absence of any competing service, my Department notes the introduction of new services or alterations to existing services by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus and section 25 of the 1958 Act does not apply.

The immediate focus for the consideration of requests to which section 25 of the 1958 Act refers, is the comparison between the proposed service, or alteration, and those being provided by a private bus operator. Submissions or observations by interested or third parties, on site monitoring, published research or reports relevant to the route (i.e. county development plans) also inform the consideration of a request.

In the past 5 years, directions under section 25 have been given in respect of Bus Éireann services connecting Cavan/Dublin, Monaghan/ Dublin, Galway/Shannon Airport and Dundalk/ Dublin. No directions under section 25 have been issued to Dublin Bus in that time period.