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

I thank the representatives of the various groups for coming here. We have heard how each company is hoping to break even by 2014 or 2015. A return to profitability was mentioned. Was the PSO part of that profitability? The PSO was higher in the past. In Bus Éireann it has been cut by 30%. It is not a level playing field in the sense that there was a different PSO. Will the witnesses comment on that?

The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, recently said 10% of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann routes would be put out to private tender. We have already had cherry picking of some of the very viable routes. With Dublin Bus we have also seen many areas without a bus service, including in my area, where we have no buses going from Finglas village to the north of Finglas. That probably means we will see more of the same and many places will have services cut. I am very concerned about that. Is it realistic to say we will break even without a proper PSO on an ongoing basis? Will we eventually get rid of the PSO or are we stuck with it? Most countries operate that way.

The school transport system was cut by €25 million. Now we are told rural transport is to be reviewed. A value-for-money review of school transport proved that it was highly efficient. If there are any further cuts in that area, it will have a massive impact across the country. I do not know whether there has been any input from the witnesses in regard to the Minister's comments about re-examining rural transport.

There have been massive strides in the area of wheelchair accessibility in Dublin, particularly in Dublin Bus. Does that reflect the rest of the country, such as Cork and Limerick? I would like to get an overall picture of how they are faring compared to Dublin. Dublin has almost 100% accessibility with Dublin Bus. Do Bus Éireann and other companies pay tolls? If so, how much do they cost? I assume reimbursement of fuel is on the agenda because it is a significant issue. I hope the Minister would allow a cut, as has been done for the road haulage industry, on the cost of fuel. Perhaps the witnesses could comment on that. Will Dublin Bus incur losses as a result of the construction of the cross-city Luas, which is coming up? How do we plan to address that? Is it factored into our thoughts?

There have been many short-term sell-offs, which the witnesses mentioned. Are they camouflaging the figures? We will not be able to make up that ground elsewhere, or maybe we will and the group will look for other places to sell off. Are further reductions in staff numbers planned?