My own take on this situation is the following:

The situation is (subject to correction):

At present bus licences are issued to operators by the Department, and the relevant operator is then under no obligation to begin a service within a specific timeframe. Any operator already issued with a licence may object to another operator being issued with a licence for a service passing through the same area. The Department will not reveal who has been issued with licences as this is commercially sensitive information.

Therefore, we have the situation where an operator may "sit" on a licence that has been issued for an unlimited period of time (and may not have buses ready), and may still object when another operator who has buses in place proposes to operate a service in that area.

I would suggest that, as a matter of urgency, a maximium six-month period be introduced within which, once issued with a licence, the relevant operator commences operations on the licensed route. A start-up date would have to be defined after three months by the operator. Otherwise the licence lapses.

This would eliminate situations as that which prevailed in Tyrellstown, when from memory, a private operator objected to Dublin Bus operating a service, but never managed to introduce a service themselves, thereby depriving the residents of the area from a bus service for almost 12 months!

Six months should be ample time to procure the necessary vehicles and staff to operate a service, and would finally give the consumer some hope of services being introduced within a reasonable timeframe.