79. The Road Transport Act 1978 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 5:

“5A. (1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that there is a real risk of disruption to the international carriage of passengers by road, and that it is necessary in order to ensure the continuation of existing services in this regard, the Minister may grant an exemption or make a declaration in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) Subject to subsection (1), the Minister may, by order, do either or both of the following—

(a) exempt any specified class of international carriage, or any specified class of vehicle engaging in international carriage, from a requirement to comply with any provision in an enactment providing for the licensing of road passenger transport operators or services, or

(b) declare that a licence (howsoever called), or class of licence, granted by a body in a third country charged by the laws of the country to grant a licence relating to the carriage for hire or reward of bus passengers by road shall, for the purposes of Part 2A of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, be deemed to be an international road passenger transport operator’s licence.

(3) In this section—

‘enactment’ means—

(a) an Act of the Oireachtas,

(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and which continued in force by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution, or

(c) an instrument made under an Act of the Oireachtas or a statute referred to in paragraph (b);

‘international carriage’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 2A of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009;

‘international road passenger transport operator’s licence’ means an international road passenger transport operator’s licence granted under section 2 of the Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006;

‘third country’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 2A of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009.”.