Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to be misunderstood. For example, I note Deputy O'Donnell made the point that he supports public transport, as do I. It is important that we have a good public transport service. I have no doubt that the Cork-to-Dublin rail line, for example, is also run at a loss, and I would in no sense advocate that it be terminated because it is serving a significant number of people. Where the scale is so great in terms of subsidy, it might be better to put the subsidy into an area where, perhaps, more use would be made of the service. I suppose it is inevitable, given that I am a Dublin Deputy, that I would focus on this, but I am aware that there is significant demand for inter-suburban bus services in Dublin, which would make some people's lives much easier. Such services would probably still run at a loss, but I doubt they would run at a 95% loss. To the extent that NTA has a policy position, I would appreciate if Mr. Murphy could direct it at where it is assisting a greater number of people.