Denis Naughten
Question:557 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Transport his plans to reform the Road Transport Act 1932; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11389/03]
Written Answers. - Proposed Legislation.
It is widely accepted that the 1932 Road Transport Act provides an inadequate basis for regulating modern bus services, and its replacement with a modern regulatory framework was signalled in the programme for Government.
My Department commissioned independent consultants Steer Davies Gleave to undertake a study on the regulation of bus services outside the greater Dublin area. I published the consultants' report last November and invited interested parties to comment on it. That public consultation process ended recently. I have received a large number of submissions, including a response from the public transport partnership forum. In its response the forum stated that: "the Road Transport Act 1932 provides an inadequate legislative basis for the continued regulation of the bus market and recommends that alternative regulatory mechanism(s) be developed, legislated for and implemented at the earliest possible opportunity".
I am examining all the submissions received during the consultation process with a view to bringing forward policy proposals for regulating bus services outside the greater Dublin area.