Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Murphy for the presentation he made. The contracts are due for renewal in 2014. The big fear is that Bus Éireann would be privatised. I am not clear on the EU directive. Is it telling us that we must go to tender and follow the directive to the letter or could we adopt a different attitude? I seek clarity on the issue.

How much does the NTA scrutinise public and private contracts? In the context of a tender for different routes does the NTA have a role in scrutinising the contracts that come in and what does it involve?

When the National Transport Authority was set up I understood that part of its remit was to safeguard the national interest in terms of public transport and that it would have a biased role to protect the State’s stake in the system. It seems to follow a different line in terms of European directives. The NTA should have been set up to protect our interests in public transport. I would welcome an opinion from Mr. Murphy on whether he views the NTA’s role in a similar way to that which I have outlined.