Vol. 521 No. 4
30 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the current position on the roll-out of bus competition having regard to the lack of provision of public service contracts; and the plans she has to find a formula whereby public service contracts can be put in place at an early date. [17060/00]
The paper which I put forward to the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructural Development and Public Private Partnerships proposed to increase private participation in the provision of bus services in the greater Dublin area in two ways. Bus Átha Cliath will be encouraged to subcontract more of its services to private operators. Subsequent to the presentation of my paper, the company obtained trade union agreement to do this. Subcontracting will allow private operators to gain some limited operational experience in the Dublin bus market, without the wider financial risks attendant on full franchising.
Private bus operators will be granted licences to operate services on certain routes in the greater Dublin area under the provisions of the existing Road Transport Act, 1932. The first step will be to complete the consideration of existing licensing applications for routes in the greater Dublin area. Subsequently the guidelines for the consideration of licence applications will be reviewed and a licensing round of specified duration will be announced during which applications for licences which accord with the revised guidelines may be submitted.
Within a year it is proposed to draft and enact legislation to establish a shadow bus regulatory body for the greater Dublin area. The principal functions of this body will be to make the necessary preparations for the phased implementation of a fully franchised bus market and the authority will have the power to enter into public service contracts with the CIE companies, thus dealing with the legal problem that currently prevents me from entering into such contracts.
