Ms Anne Graham:

We are not obliged to ensure there is a level playing field in a competitive market. As I have said, the operators are operating in a competitive market. They make the decisions on what services they want to provide and where they want to provide those services. We assess them on the basis of the demand or potential demand for those services. That is when we grant the licences. Bus Éireann could also make those decisions, as it potentially will do now, with regard to withdrawing from some of its services and potentially withdrawing some of the stopping places also on some of its services. That is the competitive market in which we operate in the provision of public transport and how the market is legislated for. Beyond that, where there are gaps in the services, the NTA looks to see whether the public service obligation is required and we attempt to ensure that this gap is filled by a contracted service. This is the model that is legislated for.