Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the union representatives and commend them on their ongoing national road show to make the public aware of the views of the bus drivers and what is potentially coming down the road.

I am glad Mr. Ennis mentioned the letters issued in January. The letter from 18 January is the one I have to hand. The proposals here are akin, perhaps, to those of the Croke Park agreement back in the noughties when we faced the first financial crisis in this country. The last paragraph of the letter concerns the elephant that was in the room for a while. He is not here now, he is gone back to the Minister, Deputy Ross. In the letter, the acting CEO of Bus Éireann tells the workers that the Government cannot, or will not, provide support and that it is up to Bus Éireann to do what is required. At the same time, he says free travel did not cause the problems and that an increase in revenue for such services will not fix the problems. To address this, let me give a simple example from my own back yard. The Cork-Dublin Expressway bus pulls into Mitchelstown. Recently, there were 45 passengers on the bus but only two paid. How can one justify the Government not intervening and paying a proper subvention in this regard?

The Minister comes back to us and says we are in conflict with EU regulations but one cannot compare the private and public services. Private operators on the Cork-Dublin route are using the motorway and doing a magnificent job. I use their service regularly. The Expressway service has to pull in here and there. How can one say the two are in competition with each other? The NTA needs to elaborate on this issue and the Minister has to get involved.

Mr. Quigley had some interesting figures on PSO supports in other European countries. What is the European average in this regard?