Vol. 562 No. 1
423 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Transport the procedures for the granting of licences to private bus operators; the criteria applied to the consideration of such applications; the extent to which Bus Éireann's existing services or proposed services are taken into consideration; the procedures for the monitoring of such private services; and the steps which will be taken in the event of a private operator not being able to meet customer demand. [5557/03]
Applications for licences for road passenger services are considered on an individual basis in accordance with the provisions of the Road Transport Act 1932. The Department is guided by relevant legal advices provided by the Office of the Attorney General. Reference is also made to Departmental guidelines which seek to clarify the administration of the 1932 Act and to act as a guide to applicants. The guidelines, which are currently under review in conjunction with the Attorney General's office, are an administrative aid and cannot of course supersede any considerations under the Act.
The 1932 Act sets down a number of matters which the Minister must have regard to in considering an application for a licence. These include whether the service in respect of which the application is made is required in the public interest having regard to the passenger road services and other forms of transport available to the public on or in the neighbourhood of the route of the proposed service.
My Department currently monitors a random selection of licensed services. It is proposed to increase the level of monitoring of licensed services over the coming year.
424 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Transport the procedures for the granting of approvals to each of the public transport companies for the establishment of new services and routes; the criteria which are applied; the numbers of requests for such services which have been made to his Department in each of the past three years and for each of the public transport companies; and the outcome in each case. [5558/03]
The establishment of new routes and services is a day-to-day matter for each of the public transport companies. I do not grant approvals in respect of the establishment of new services and routes.
However, since 10 January 2001, Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus are required to notify my Department of proposed new services or proposed changes to existing services at least four weeks prior to their introduction. Where a proposal conflicts with a prior application from a private operator to licence a service under the Road Transport Act 1932, Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus, when notified by my Department, must suspend the introduction of the proposed service changes until further notice.
Once the application for a licence under the 1932 Act has been processed, Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus is advised that the Department has noted their proposal and, where appropriate, the relevant company will be asked to review its proposals in the light of any licence that may have been issued to the private operator for the route in question.
Both Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus are required under section 25 of the Transport Act 1958, to seek my consent for the initiation or amendment of services operated by the company so as to compete with a licensed passenger road service.
