Is it proposed for ever more to call this the Transport (Dublin Light Rail) (No.2) Bill? Will it become the No.2 Act? Will that great Government defeat go down in history in the statutes?
SECTION 30.
Question proposed: "That section 30 stand part of the Bill."
I am not sure the question begs a reply, notwithstanding the good spirit in which we debated this Bill.
Section 30 is the short Title of the Bill.
It is the short Title of the Bill, yes.
What is the short Title of the Bill?
Transport (Dublin Light Rail) (No. 2) Act, 1996.
There is no No. 1 Act.
There almost was. No. 2 is in the title, it has to be.
It will read "No. 2" Act, even though there was no No. 1 Act. Lawyers will make fortunes out of this in years to come.
It was the No. 2 Bill but not the No. 2 Act.
It should just read "The Dublin Light Rail Bill".
Or Act, when it is passed. I will have that point checked out.
Question put and agreed to.
Title agreed to.
I propose the following draft report: "The Select Committee——
On a point of order, does the Chairman not have to put the question that the Committee Stage is now agreed?
I will have to report that to the Dáil in the morning, if it is agreed but I have to get agreement on the report of the Committee first.
I understood there was to be a final question to the committee on whether it adopted the Committee Stage of the Bill.
Report of Select Committee.
That is what I am putting now. I will have to read that to you. I propose the following draft report:
The Select Committee, having considered the Bill, has made amendments thereto. The Bill, as amended, is reported to the Dáil.
I will formally move that report in the morning.
I wish to oppose that.
That is most unusual.
I am opposing that we report to the Dáil that amendments have been made because no amendments have been made to this Bill.
Yes they have. I tabled ministerial amendments.
The Minister moved three amendments only a few minutes ago.
I wish to oppose the report on Committee Stage to the Dáil.
Before the Chairman puts the question, I want to make a few concluding remarks. Perhaps the Chairman could indicate the correct time to do so.
I will have to seek advice on that because I am not quite sure. The select committee has considered the Bill at great length, has made amendments to it and a motion has been put. As regards the Deputy's point — I would have to make this judgment without consultation — I will have to put the motion as I have already proposed. If the Deputy wishes to oppose that I will have to put it to a vote. However, I would seek an adjournment to consult on that matter because in my experience it has never been done before in select committee.
What has never been done?
Chairman, you are putting the question that the committee reports to the House.
I would only be reporting the Bill back to the House in the morning before the Bill is taken. I assume that it would be more appropriate to challenge that situation on the Order of Business. It would be unprecedented for a report back to the Dáil to be opposed, having completed the business democratically over a period of two days. If the Deputy wishes to challenge that I would feel obliged at this stage to consult standing orders and probably seek advice as to whether it is right and proper to do that. I am not depriving the Deputy of his right to challenge it but I will have to seek advice as to whether it is appropriate under standing orders.
I will not argue with the Chairman about these procedural matters but if you are putting a question to the committee then one is obviously entitled to say yes or no to it. I suggest that if the committee does not have that right then the Chairman should inform it that this is what he is planning to do rather than putting the matter to the committee.
I will put the motion again and if the Deputy wishes to challenge it he can do so.
You have the option of informing the committee that you plan to do this, but if you are consulting us I have to say no.
I am satisfied that, as Chairman, I not alone have the right but also the responsibility to put a motion at the end of a debate on Committee Stage to the House and I propose to do that. If the Deputy wishes me to put it again I will.
I am sorry but you cannot have it both ways. If you are putting a motion to the committee then, by definition, the committee can divide on it. If you are not putting a motion to the committee you are simply informing the committee of your right as Chairman to report it to the Dáil and that you are planning to go ahead with that. We have no say in it and that is fair enough.
That would be the normal procedure. That is the way I have always dealt with it and that is the way it is listed for me.
Then I recommend that you should not put it to the committee.
I am putting the following question again.
The Select Committee has considered the Bill and has made amendments thereto. The Bill, as amended, is reported to the Dáil.
Report agreed to.
Ordered to report to the Dáil accordingly.
I thank Members and, in particular, the Minister and her officials who have had a most searching examination of this important Bill. I thank Deputy Brennan, the spokesperson for the Fianna Fáil Party, Deputy Joe Costello and other spokespersons and Members who contributed. I thank the staff for their co-operation and members of the general public who attended the debate on this Bill for two days and who met me at the request of Members. I hope they have learned from that and I thank them sincerely.
I thank you, Chairman, as well as the Deputies for the constructive manner in which this debate has been conducted. I also thank the staff of the House and of the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications. I hope those who proposed amendments that I have not been able to accept will understand the underlying reasons for my position.
In relation to the routes to be followed I want to make it absolutely clear that what the Minister, Deputy Lowry, launched on 12 December 1995 was a comprehensive public consultation programme. The Minister stressed he was not launching the construction phase of the LRT system but rather the start of a consultation process with the people of Dublin which he considers essential to the preparation for and ultimate success of the LRT project.
At the time, the Minister stressed the need for the widest public consultation before the die is cast and anything is carved in stone. CIÉ is committed to ensure that full consultation takes place with affected businesses and residents on all aspects of the project. The successful implementation of strategy depends on ongoing local consultation and effective two way communications on issues of importance to those concerned. To this end, and taking into account the concerns expressed by public representatives, the Minister agreed a strategy with CIÉ to enhance the consultation process by expanding the consultation team and ensuring greater accessibility to it at local community level.
This Bill is vital in that it will provide the statutory framework for the development of the light railway in Dublin. However, it does not seek to dictate the detail of how light rail is to be implemented. Before any route is decided on two stages must be gone through. Routes will not be selected until the consultation process has been completed and the final decision on routes will not be made until the formal inquiry has been held, an environmental impact assessment completed and consideration given to any submissions made to the Minister as part of the formal procedures. I want to emphasise those points.
Questions were also raised about the appointment of Oscar Faber, the international transportation planning consultants, appointed to carry out the comparative socio-economic evaluation of the Tallaght-Ballymun and Tallaght-Dundrum light rail lines. They are not undertaking a reappraisal of light rail nor are they reopening questions on the core routes as recommended by the DTI. The consultants have commenced their work and are expected to complete their assignment within a 12 week period. In the event that they recommend the Tallaght-Ballymun option there would be an impact on the timing of the project. There would be a delay of 12 months or so before such an option could be brought to the point where a public inquiry could be held. Clearly that would make it difficult to deliver on all of that section within the 1999 timeframe but it would not halt the project.
This Government is serious about implementing the recommendations of the Dublin Transport Initiative. Government policy on light rail is clear and unambiguous. It is, in effect, the centrepiece of a public transport investment programme for Dublin. Although the original Bill was defeated, I believe there is general support for the concept of light rail on all sides. Deputies have on all sides been supportive of light rail and would not wish to see this opportunity missed. This Bill will enable the development of light rail for Dublin and is a necessary next step to take the project off the drawing board and keep it on course for implementation by the year 2000.
I thank Members for their contributions and constructive criticism. I am taking many of the points on board and will refer to them again on Report Stage which I understand will be taken in the Dáil tomorrow.
I thank the Chairman, officials and members of the public and press for their attendance. I thank the Minister for her advice and for taking the Bill although I am deeply disappointed that the core changes which we sought in regard to consultation, the rights of minorities and on the various sections were not made. There were reassuring noises but amendments were not accepted. This was a useful discussion although few amendments were made and most of them were of a cosmetic nature. I had hoped to make some real changes and am disappointed that the Government has not been able to accept any of the deeply held views of the Opposition on the consultative process. However, I thank the Minister and her officials for their work.
Thank you, Sir, for chairing the proceedings over the last two days and for meeting delegations from the communities at very short notice. I thank the staff for the work they have done in preparing the summary of the discussions which took place at that earlier meeting. I also thank the members of the public and the media who showed an interest by attending here for two days. I thank the Minister of State for the concerns she has expressed and for the courtesy of her replies. We rely on the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Lowry, to ensure delivery on the consultation process which I have no doubt would allow the light rail to go ahead without causing major controversy, such as that which took place before because of the lack of adequate consultation.
I am not a member of the committee but I join with Members in thanking you, Sir, the Minister of State and the staff who worked in the background. Committee Stage should ideally result in changes being made to the Bill. Otherwise it does not serve any purpose. However, I will not be as pessimistic as my colleague, Deputy Brennan. I hope the Minister will come back to us on the various issues we raised with significant amendments to in the Bill. Not many Bills arouse the interest and involvement of the community to the extent that this one did.
We should extend our thanks to those members of the community who attended the two day debate on Committee Stage. They will be very disappointed if their efforts come to nothing on Report Stage. I sincerely hope, in the interests of democracy, that the Bill will be amended. Perhaps I am naive in that respect but I await tomorrow's deliberations.
I am sure everybody will be watching the debate on Report Stage with interest. I sincerely thank all my colleagues, the Minister and her officials. This has been one of the most in-depth examinations of a Bill by a committee that I have seen. It may be that there were not many changes made, but at least we and the public will be much wiser as a result. Following Report and Final Stages in the Dáil, the Bill will be debated in the Seanad.
The Select Committee adjourned at 5.20 p.m.