John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I may pick up on a point made by Senator Mooney about the expressway routes, Mr. Nolan referred to low usage. However, I refer to recent timetabling changes and I ask that Bus Éireann be sensitive to the needs of users as regards changes in timetabling. A question was asked about free transport and Mr. Nolan said there is a 20% usage. Many people think this scheme is being abused. It is an excellent scheme and it must be preserved. However, there are allegations of people using bus passes that are no longer valid, no longer alive, so to speak. Has Bus Éireann any evidence of such practices? Could regulation of the scheme be improved in order to keep it for the people who deserve it?