Ms Deirdre Hanlon:

A wide range of heartfelt issues were raised by the Deputies and Senator and they have spoken from their experience in their areas. I will deal with them in the order they were raised, cluster some of them where points were made regarding interventions in a few areas, and I will ask my colleague to comment on the road items.

The issue of public transport fares was raised by Deputies Ó Cuív and Michael Collins. The Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 specifically provides that one of the functions to be carried out not by the Minister of our Department but by the independent National Transport Authority, NTA, is to regulate, set and determine fares. It does that typically by way of an annual statement. It issued its fares determination sometime last week or the previous wee,. That is an exercise of powers the Oireachtas conferred on it and that it has specifically stated should no longer be exercised by the Minister of our Department but by an independent authority and that it should be done in this way. Matters about fares and the fairness of them-----