Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to back up the Chairman. What is happening is that in a lot of cases there are byroads and at one time the bus pulled in at each one along the way. Now the local authority states, "You cannot park there. It is not safe".

However, that is where they get their business. It is safety gone mad. A solution must be found, even if it involves bringing in a digger to make a corner in order that it can pull in. If one includes these places in one's list of stops, one will be refused. Saying the local authorities will do it is not going to solve the problem. What is urgently required is that the delegates and local authorities consult on the different routes and a digger be sent to make an area safe. They are even being blocked on the hard shoulder, but, as the Chairman said, school buses can pull up outside every house along the route. That is sound. Nothing will happen to them because they are different from the ones that are a little older. It has gone a little mad and the end result will be that private bus operators will be driven out of business. The Chairman is 100% correct. I ask the delegates to take the lead on this issue with the local authorities as it must be resolved. It is not just a problem in Galway. It started there, but it will surface throughout the country.