Ms Anne Graham:

Unfortunately, we are not in a position to integrate the school transport service to the same extent. However, we undertook some pilot studies where we used the return leg of a school transport service journey to provide a rural transport service. This happened in a number of locations. In some cases, it was successful, while in others, it did not work at all. We can look at combining the return leg of a school transport service with a rural transport service, but we must procure that service separately. We are precluded from procuring school transport services under our governing legislation.

On the level of communication between the NTA and Bus Éireann, we are in constant communication with the company. We meet regularly to review the services being provided under the PSO contract. In fact, it is something that we do constantly.