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

It is welcome in a sense that the Minister is here again. It is disappointing that he needed to come back here, only four weeks after his last visit. On the last day he said that he would share with us the NTA's review into the licensing system. Perhaps the review is full of commercially sensitive information that he might need to redact. Four weeks ago he promised that we would receive the review and we received it late yesterday evening. The delay shows that he did not prioritise this issue. We now realise, despite what he said at the time, that the review has more to do with procedural and compliance issues than the commercial viability of the Expressway service.

I have confidence in the unions, that represent the workers, and the management working together under the auspices of the WRC. I do not have confidence in the Minister due to the level of commitment that he has shown regarding this problem since he assumed office nine months ago. I remind people that he has been aware of this issue since then and his Department officials have been aware of the issue in excess of 12 months yet we are where we are today.

The Minister mentioned the PSO increase. Has the number of passengers availing of the PSO service increased over the past number of years? On the last occasion the Minister was here he claimed that the number of passengers using public transport had increased and that the majority of them used PSO services. Has the PSO increased? Incidentally, the PSO figure is less than it was in 2008. How is that an increase?