Austin Deasy
Question:44 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will grant an occasional passenger licence to a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [11440/95]
Written Answers. - Occasional Passenger Licence.
The person named has applied to my Department for an occasional passenger licence to provide a late night bus service between South Main Street and the Hilltop Hotel, Youghal, County Cork. Occasional passenger licences are issued in accordance with the terms of the Road Transport Act, 1932. In considering whether to grant or refuse an application for a passenger licence under that Act, my Department is required to have regard to the extent of passenger road services and other forms of passenger transport available to the public on or in the neighbourhood of the route of the proposed service. In view of these restrictions, the scope for granting new licences to private bus operators is very limited.
The difficulty in the present case is that another operator already holds a licence in respect of a service on the route in question, while my Department has also received a number of applications from other bus operators in respect of this route.
In the circumstances, to grant a passenger licence to the named person would be a departure from the current policy whereby, in general, only one passenger licence is issued for a particular service on a specific route. The complex issues raised by the application are receiving further consideration and I hope to be in a position to advise the Deputy of the outcome in the near future.