Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his patience and I am conscious that he has to be in the Dáil in a few minutes. The Minister acknowledged that the funding the Department of Social Protection is paying is inadequate. This was identified in some of the earliest reports. It is disappointing that the Minister still has not engaged with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe. If we achieve nothing else today, could the Minister put a timeline on when the negotiations would be complete on increasing the subsidy to the Expressway service under a different heading by paying the provider of travel to the free travel pass holders an adequate fee for carrying the people who rely on it?

The Minister did not get an opportunity to answer in respect of the NTA earlier. He quoted the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 and powers for which it provides. Perhaps some Acts can be left alone indefinitely but there is always an opportunity to amend, improve or modify legislation. Although the NTA is coming in for much criticism, it is doing only what the Act enables it to do. Is there an opportunity to amend the legislation and would the Minister be amenable to having an independent regulatory review on how the NTA conducts its business carried out?