Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 148: To ask the Minister for Transport if Dublin Bus services are currently prohibited from using the Dublin Port Tunnel; if so, the reason for the prohibition; the number of routes and services currently licensed to use the Port Tunnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23308/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has not refused any operator the use of the Port Tunnel and it supports its utilisation by any bus operator, whether it is Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann or a private operator, as a means of obtaining faster journey times for commuters in a manner consistent with the licensing and authorisation requirements of the Road Transport Act 1932 and the Transport Act 1958.

Dublin Bus has been authorised by my Department to operate the following services via the Port Tunnel:

A single departure on its Route 33X, Skerries-City Centre service;

All departures on the Route 142, Portmarnock-Malahide-City Centre-Rathminesservice;

Six departures on the Route 41X operating from Swords. 2 from Swords Manor, 2 from Glen Ellen and 2 from the River Valley areas to the City Centre.

My Department has also issued two licences to private bus operators that utilise the Port Tunnel. One licence provides passengers travelling between Swords Centre and Dublin City Centre with a high frequency express type service and the second licensed service operates as a dedicated airport service between Greystones via Blackrock and Dublin Airport. My Department is currently processing a number of other applications received from private operators for services that will utilise the Port Tunnel.