Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I have no issue with that. I would actually agree with the Minister about putting some people like that on the board. The fact is, however, that the Minister is in dereliction of his duty by not having appropriate people with expertise on the board of the RSA to implement this policy and other policies. I am saying that directly to him as a serious concern. I know it to be a serious concern of the board and the chairperson themselves. I am asking the Minister, aside from politics, to please look at this differently. He should get adequate engineering, safety and other experts onto this board, whoever they are - it is not an issue for me and nor is the process by which he does it.

I understand the Minister's thinking and I agree within him about people who have experienced trauma due to issues on our roads. However, the board itself cannot give best policy and direction to this country given the way it is currently constituted. That is an undeniable fact.

I have one brief question. Obviously if this law were to come in, which it will not, it does give us a chance to be privy to this sort of thinking. I would hope that the Minister will examine the issue of rural transport both within the capital and budgetary planning processes.

I wish to mark two things on the Minister's radar. One is to look at the process of funding rural transport across the country, given where Bus Éireann is. We do not know what will happen in the future and I will not even go down that road with the Minister, he will be glad to hear.