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

I do not consider commissioning one report after another as activity. It has been identified by the acting CEO that €7 million was spent in 2016 on the hire of private coaches. This is something the company says can be done without in 2017. Perhaps there is a saving to be made there. At the committee meeting last week, the Bus Éireann acting CEO said that the technology to ensure efficiency with petrol and diesel for the buses was not being implemented throughout the fleet. An increase in efficiency levels of 1% would save in the region of €350,000. It has also been suggested that savings could have been made in the whole area of insurance. Between the Minister's Department and the Bus Éireann management these efficiencies were not looked at. Under the acting CEO, they are being looked at, which is welcome. What is also being looked at is the slashing of the employees' terms and conditions but when the acting CEO appeared before this committee last week he could not identify the percentage of savings the company would achieve through non-payroll activity. That is the fact.

I am conscious of my remaining time but I have two further questions. The Minster speaks of the social protection negotiations with the Minister for Social Protection. This was identified in the very first report the Minister, Deputy Ross, would have received very early on after taking office but he is only going to start talking to the Minister for Social Protection in the coming weeks or days. What has the Minister, Deputy Ross, done to date? What negotiations has he had to date with the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, in order to increase this funding? In the Dáil last night the Minister, Deputy Ross, said that the Public Transport Regulations Act 2009 had at its very core putting the customer first. That is right. While I agree with much of what my colleagues have said, I am not against competition but I want to see fair competition. Does the Minister believe the competition is fair in how the licences are now issued? There is a situation, for example, where we have the Bus Éireann route between Waterford and Dublin servicing ten stops while the private contractor, which has a similar licence in regard to departure times, etc., services two stops between Waterford and Dublin. Does the Minister believe this to be fair? Does he not think that now is the time to address this? Things constantly evolve and change, and no legislation is enshrined to be in existence for an indefinite period of time. Does the Minister think that now is the time to carry out a regulatory review on how the NTA issues licences?