Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Transport if the Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009 will permit his Department to reconsider his decision to refuse an extension of the 37 bus terminus to the Blanchardstown Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43992/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 incorporates provision for a new licensing system that will be implemented by the National Transport Authority and will be applied in respect of all commercial public bus passenger services. A feature of that system is that its implementation is dependent on the production by the Authority of guidelines under section 23 of the Act. Drafts of guidelines will be subject to a broadly based consultation process, which will include a requirement that the Authority must seek and consider the views of the Competition Authority, in relation to competition issues, and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport. Pending the completion of that process and the publication of the resultant guidelines, the current arrangements under the Road Transport Act 1932 and the Transport Act 1958 in relation to the licensing and authorisation of public bus services will continue to apply.

Accordingly, the determination of submissions from Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann in respect of the introduction of new services or the alteration of existing services will continue to be considered with reference to section 25 of the Transport Act 1958.

The position in relation to the proposal by Dublin Bus to alter the terminal point of its 37 Service is that the Company notified my Department in May 2008 and again in July 2008 of its intention to alter the terminus of route 37 from Diswellstown Road in Carpenterstown. These notifications were not refused, but on each occasion my Department deemed that the proposed amendment to the route would result in competition with an existing licensed passenger service.

Accordingly, Dublin Bus was advised that an application in accordance with Section 25 of the Transport Act, 1958 was required. No such application has been received from the Company.

A further notification received from the Company in relation to route 37, is currently under consideration by my Department.