Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Transport the date, with regard to the establishment of the Dublin Transport Authority to incorporate the Dublin Transport Office, the Commission for Taxi Regulation and the public licensing function of his Department as announced in Budget 2009, by which this body will be established; the status of the legislation required to give effect to this announcement; the savings that this is expected to accrue to the Exchequer in 2008, 2009 and 2010; the basis for those savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42105/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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It is my intention to establish the Dublin Transport Authority as early as possible in 2009 once I am satisfied that it has the financial and staffing resources necessary to enable it discharge effectively the functions assigned to it by the Oireachtas under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008.

Discussions are currently taking place between my Department and the Department of Finance on the financing and staffing of the Authority against the background of the difficult position faced by the Exchequer as outlined in the recent Budget.

Part 6 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act provides for the dissolution of the Dublin Transportation Office and the transfer of its employees and a small number of employees of the Railway Procurement Agency to the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA) in accordance with the detailed arrangements provided for in that Part.

The agreed programme for Government includes a commitment to improving bus services under Transport 21 by reforming the bus licensing provisions of the Road Transport Act 1932, to facilitate the optimum provision of services by providing a level playing field for all market participants, both public and private.

It is my intention that proposals for the new bus licensing regime will be contained in a Public Transport Regulation Bill which will deal with the replacement of the Road Transport Act 1932 and the provisions of the Transport Act 1958 that relate to the provision of bus services by the State bus companies. It is intended that responsibility for bus licensing and public transport service contracts nationwide will be assigned to the DTA under this Bill. It is also proposed that the Commission for Taxi Regulation will be absorbed into the DTA under this Bill.

The overall impact of these proposals is that the expanded DTA will absorb the DTO and the CTR as well as the functions envisaged in the Programme for Government for a National Transport Regulator. It is my intention to seek Government approval to a General Scheme of the Public Transport Regulation Bill before the end of the year with a view to publication in 2009.

A key objective of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and the broader public transport regulatory reform programme is to ensure better value for money from the very substantial funds which are being made available by the Exchequer for investment in public transport infrastructure and to support the provision of public transport services. I am satisfied that substantial benefits will accrue as a result of the improved procurement, regulation, management and coordination of transport services. Those benefits will accrue to the travelling public, employers, taxpayers and society at large and will make an important contribution to sustaining competitiveness and addressing the increasing challenges of climate change.