Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. I agree that by and large, where there has been deregulation or an opening to competition, the process has worked for society as a whole. It is nevertheless unpopular with incumbents.

There was a quote this morning from the 2008 OECD report, which I have not seen or read. There was mention of eight or ten cities in Scandinavia and countries in Europe. I am sure the OECD report goes into much greater detail of where the process has worked, although the report may not detail locations where the process has not worked. Perhaps we could get a greater summary from the witnesses in that regard. I would like to see a more complete mention of the report on the record if we are to use it as a basis for any conclusions.

What guarantees can be given, if there is a public service order tender, that we would not be replacing one monopoly with an oligopoly, or that we would replace one or two family-owned businesses with smaller vehicles that can provide efficient services in remote areas with some of the larger players in the market? It may not happen in the two, three or five years within the contract but it could be that in ten or 15 years, there will be half a dozen major operators in the country. I would like to be assured that we can avoid that position.