Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for coming into the meeting late. I thank the council for its presentation. In the system being rolled out at the moment, the incentive exists for non-stop intercity routes while forgetting everywhere in the middle. On the small bundles proposal, is that not similar to what happened in Britain? Was that a success? There are serious question marks over its operation in Britain. Would it not make more sense on routes such as Dublin-Galway or Dublin-Sligo that each operator that provides a service would have a social responsibility built in? On the Ballina-Dublin route, one operator would have to stop in Carracastle and provide a service twice a day while another operator would have to provide a service in Elphin twice a day. The same goes for the Roosky and Dromad issue. It would bring a mix into the commercial operation but would not undermine the commercial viability of those operations and it would not leave communities completely isolated, as is happening at the moment. The current system is purely driven by profits from non-stop services from one city to another, which has been a disaster in Britain.