The document was published in May this year but it has not been pursued in Brussels since then. There have been no developments since the proposal was originally presented. We have set out the current regulatory position and concentrated mainly on the authorisation provisions, which impact on particular routes both here and abroad.
In overall terms, the main benefits from this proposal if pursued by the European Union are concentrated on the Community licensing provisions. There will be a new standard Community licence containing a unique serial number which will be of great assistance in terms of security and of limiting potential fraud. The second issue is authorisations relating to documents. Under the current regime, amendments to documents have to be provided for in regulations. This proposal would see these being dealt with by a committee referred to in the proposed regulation. The first major change in terms of authorisations relates to the grounds for refusal. It is proposed that the only ground for refusal from a market basis would be the potential effect on an existing service which attracts a public service obligation. The existing reasons for refusal from a good repute perspective remain unchanged.
One of the problems with the administration of the current system is that in respect of all applications which transit a state, irrespective of whether a service actually stops in that state to pick up or set down passengers, we must get the approval of that state. The proposal currently before us would provide that approval would only be required where the service actually does pick up or set down passengers in transit states. In the case of a service from Dublin to Poland which does stop en route, it would be necessary only to obtain the approval of both authorities.
One of the proposals which could have very significant implications for our current national market relates to cabotage. Cabotage is the system whereby an operator from one state is allowed to pick up and set down passengers in another state. Such an operator would be competing on a route with an indigenous operator. The proposal does not make it clear whether the idea of cabotage is being pursued on a permanent basis. We will seek clarification on that. However, its impact on our national market is something which concerns us.
One of the main problems in the current regime, particularly with regard to community licensing but also with regard to the authorisation system, is the question of potential enforcement. This proposal contains provisions for the establishment of national electronic registers and is a significant improvement in the current mutual recognition provisions. We welcome the proposals for the simplification of the administration of the community licensing and authorisation systems. A system like this, which is less bureaucratic, more orientated towards the user and easier to pursue means a potential road safety gain. The degree to which people are approved, the speed at which they are approved and the enforcement provisions will mean fewer people operating without licences.
We have concerns about the cabotage proposals because they are confusing. If cabotage is to be applied on a permanent basis, we will have to engage with operators in Ireland to seek their views so that we can present a coherent case in Europe. We welcome the mutual assistance provisions. They will assist in better enforcement across the Community.
On the question of refusals of licence applications, the new proposal is confusing. The only ground for refusing, from a market perspective, is that a service would impact on an existing service to which we apply a public service obligation. It also seems to suggest that where we have already made decisions on cases on the basis of existing criteria, the new criteria may have to be applied. There might be cases where we have refused applications on the ground that a service already existed and the degree to which the proposed service would affect it. These are issues on which clarification will be sought when the proposal is being pursued by the Presidency. The proposals were published in May of this year and the Portuguese Presidency has not dealt with the matter. We await the outcome of the Slovenian or French Presidencies later this year.
