Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Nolan and Mr. Creegan for their presentations and appreciate that they have come before the joint committee.

I wish to focus on the Expressway service. Mr. Nolan indicated that the service made a loss in 2015. I understand the accounts for 2015 have not been fully prepared but will he indicate the scale of the projected losses and the impact this will have in 2016? Does Mr. Nolan think that Bus Éireann will be able to bring its cost structure in line with its revenues for 2016 or is the company projecting a loss by the Expressway service for the year? In his presentation, Mr Nolan states that the company operates in an increasingly competitive environment with ever-expanding activity on some of the routes. I would have hoped that the increase in passenger activity would have helped to address some of the increased competition but clearly that is not the case. Will he elaborate on the nature of the competitive environment in which the service operates? Has saturation point been reached on some routes? Is the competition that is required under legislation reaching a point where it is making it difficult for all concerned to survive on certain routes? Obviously, there are wider implications in a competitive environment because it could ultimately lead to a deterioration in services. We know what happens when the point of saturation is reached, namely, it effectively becomes a race to the bottom and the service is diminished. The customer is the obvious loser in the long term. My concern, based on what Mr. Nolan said, is that we may be at the start of the road to that ultimate outcome. I would like Mr. Nolan to address this matter.

I thank Mr. Creegan for his presentation. I have had the opportunity to discuss with the NTA on a number of occasions the very good work it does in attempting to put in place a national plan for the delivery of public transport services, both in terms of the licensing remit and managing the public service obligation element. What criteria are in place to ensure that the issuance of licences will not result in an over-saturation of a particular market to the point where it will not be financially viable for operators to survive?

Often, one can let the market decide and try to pick up the pieces thereafter. This is a regulated environment, after all. The witnesses do not need me to tell them about the requirement to try to ensure there is a viable market, as opposed to a predatory approach that would ultimately lead to a race to the bottom. What kinds of checks and balances are in place? What type of testing is done? What advice do the witnesses have for the Legislature? What should operators like Mr. Nolan do to ensure this eventuality does not arise?