Council regulation 12/98 lays down the conditions under which road passenger carriers established in one member state may provide, on a temporary basis, certain types of national transport services in another member state. This is known as cabotage. The provisions of the regulation will apply from 11 June 1999. It will be incorporated into Irish law by means of a statutory instrument early in the New Year.
The Road Transport Act, 1932, as amended, is the legislative basis for the licensing of scheduled bus services in this country. This legislation governs the provision of passenger services, aside from services provided by Bus Éireann and Bus Atha Cliath. There is widespread acceptance that there are a number of difficulties associated with the implementation of this legislation. It is clear that this is a complex matter to which there are no simple solutions.
Substantial competition between public and private operators has been of real benefit to consumers. As outlined in my Department's statement of strategy, it is planned to carry out a review of options for the effective regulation of the bus market with a view to introducing legislation to replace the 1932 Act. This review will focus on improving customer service, effective enforcement, fair competition and appropriate integration of services. I expect the establishment of an independent authority to be one of the options to be considered in that review.