Written answers

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Department of Transport

Dublin Transport Authority

5:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will report on the recently published Dublin Transport Authority Bill; when he will appoint the new members of the DTA board and advisory council; if he will provide an indicative date for the full operation of the DTA; if he will estimate the expected cost of the authority's operation for its first three years; the reason the Railway Procurement Agency has not been incorporated into the new DTA; the reason the Commission for Taxi Regulation is not incorporated into the new body; if the DTA will be the lead agency for the delivery of Transport 21 projects, including inter urban and other roads, in the Greater Dublin Area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17313/08]

Photo of Noel DempseyNoel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008 was published last month and the Bill is currently before Seanad Éireann. Once the Seanad has passed the Bill it will be a matter for the Chief Whip to decide when Second Stage should be ordered in the Dáil. My aim is to have the Bill enacted during 2008 with a view to facilitating formal establishment of the new Authority at the beginning of 2009.

Mr. Tom Mulcahy was appointed by my predecessor as Chairperson-designate of the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA). I will shortly be appointing the other members of an interim Authority that will be tasked with putting in place the necessary arrangements to ensure that the Authority will be in a position to commence work immediately following its formal establishment. The priority in this regard will be the recruitment of a Chief Executive-designate.

My Department will provide up to €4 million from existing resources in the current year to the interim Authority for this purpose. The interim Authority will identify the Authority's administrative budget and staffing requirements for 2009 and beyond.

The Government decided that the Railway Procurement Agency should not be absorbed by the new Authority in order to remove any possible risk to the successful completion of the ongoing procurement process in respect of Metro North. The Government also decided that the Commission for Taxi Regulation should be absorbed by the new Authority and my Department is preparing the necessary amendments to the Dublin Transport Authority Bill for this purpose. Those amendments will be tabled at Dáil Committee Stage.

The DTA will have overall responsibility for the implementation of Transport 21 in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), working as far as possible through the existing agencies as set out in Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the Bill. While the National Roads Authority (NRA) will continue to exercise national road functions in the GDA, it will be required to do so in a manner that is consistent with the DTA's transport strategy. The DTA will also have the power to require the NRA to exercise its functions in a manner that is consistent with the transport strategy as well as other specified plans and measures. Where necessary, the DTA will also be empowered to step-in and perform those functions itself. These powers are detailed in Chapter 6 of Part 4 of the Bill.

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