Mr. Aidan Murphy:

With regard to the Expressway service, I can confirm that we are making significant changes to the ICT system to be able to manage the apps to which the Deputy refers. At the start of the year we appointed a chief commercial officer, who was working very hard to bring into play the modern technology that gives customers up-to-date information and make travelling on the Expressway service more streamlined. Members may have noticed some of our new coach livery on the Expressway service, which is being rolled out. New vehicles are coming into the fleet at the end of this year and the start of next year, and people will see a higher level of service. It is our aim to provide the best level of service on the Expressway routes and to compete with other operators to provide a seamless, modern and efficient transport system.

The Deputy is correct in respect of the PSO in that we are in a competitive situation. We accept and understand it and we accept that the customer is interested in the service and does not care a great deal about who provides it. Having said that, there is a degree of brand loyalty to Bus Éireann because it operates in almost every parish in the country. The closeness to the community gives loyalty to the brand that is different to other operators. On the one hand, we want to retain that, but on the other, we want to be as competitive as we can in providing services that customers demand. At the same time, we must respect the taxpayer. If the subvention is reduced, it is taxpayers' funds and we must be conscious of it.

I cannot provide the figures from other jurisdictions on subsidies. In most jurisdictions there is a certain level of subsidisation for services. With over 4 million inhabitants on the island, we have over 11 million vehicles. This amounts to approximately 4,000 citizens per vehicle on the road. Taking out the large conurbation of Dublin and spreading the remainder over the country, this gives an idea of the sparse population areas we must deal with in terms of the PSO. If we want to provide a certain level of service, there is a cost. We must either transparently decide what is the cost and how it will be funded or decide that we will not provide the service. We will be as competitive as we can but there is a danger in going to a range of competitive situations. We have seen this in the airline industry. Many operators came into the airline industry to provide lower fares and many of them went out very quickly. There must be a sustainable business model that works in the longer term. We must recognise that if we want a level of service to satisfy the needs of rural Ireland, and Bus Éireann is in favour of that, we must be transparent about its cost and how that cost is allocated. That is why we are working closely with the NTA to provide a level of service, to increase services where we can and to increase frequency, increase journeys and put the focus on the customer. There is a cost to this and we must recognise that.