Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Transport when he expects the Dublin Transport Authority to be fully operational; his views on whether the delay is acceptable in view of the fact that the act was signed on 8 July 2008; the action taken by him to have the authority operational in time for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21185/09]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Transport when the new Dublin Transport Authority will be established and fully operational; the process being run to appoint a chief executive officer for the DTA; if this is a national or internationally based process; when legislation will be published to transform the DTA into the National Transport Regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21261/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 82 together.

Following the enactment of the Dublin Transport Authority my Department is proceeding with preparations for the establishment of the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA) during 2009.

A key part of those preparations is the recruitment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) designate. The recruitment process which was overseen by the Public Appointments Service, was aimed at attracting interest from suitable candidates in Ireland and abroad. That process has now been concluded and I expect to be in a position to announce the CEO designate in the near future.

Last March I sought applications from persons interested in being appointed as a member of the new Authority. I am pleased to report that the process yielded 66 applications, which I am currently considering.

The renaming of the Dublin Transport Authority as the National Transport Authority is among the proposals included in the General Scheme of the Public Transport Regulation Bill, which was approved by the Government earlier this year. The Bill is now being drafted and it will be published as soon as possible.