Mr. John Fitzgerald:

The opening of 10% of bus routes is a critical issue for the unions and will continue to be for a while. It comes down to the extent to which they can accept that it is good for the industry. It is good for the bus companies and Dublin Bus is a good outfit. It is well managed and has done much, including reducing its costs.

When discussing fare increases I should have said the third leg of the stool was that the company had reduced costs by between 18% and 20%. It will be good for the unions if they manage to bite the bullet on this issue, show they can compete and perhaps win the routes back. We have a great deal of talking to do with them, as this is a difficult issue for them. However, I am not pessimistic about the possibility that we will be able to provide sufficient reassurance to get on with it.