Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2017
628. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will publish the report submitted by the NTA to his Department reviewing the operation of Part 2 of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009; and if he will provide a summary of the report's findings and recommendations. [5453/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy refers, the NTA submitted a review of Part 2 of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 to my Department in late 2016. This review has been prepared in accordance with section 25 of the 2009 Act, which provides for a periodic review to be conducted of the operation of Part 2. The findings of the review are currently being considered by my Department.
The NTA's review is primarily concerned with procedural and compliance issues related to the licencing system and makes recommendations for certain legislative changes that would enable the NTA to deal more efficiently with its bus licensing functions. The document does not contain a review of the policy that underpins bus licensing and does not incorporate an assessment of the existing regulated competition model.
Given the nature of the review, the NTA has expressed strong concerns about the release of the report due to the commercial sensitivity of some of the information and the potential prejudice to the continued effective enforcement of the relevant Sections of the 2009 Act. Therefore, I do not believe it would be in the public interest to publish it.
I had committed, at a recent meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport, to share the document with the committee members, subject to there being no issues regarding commercial sensitivity or other concerns. I will make arrangements for the report to be circulated in the coming days as promised with appropriate redactions to take account of these issues.
