Ms Moyagh Murdock:

I do not know if it is getting older or younger but I do not believe it is any less roadworthy than the Bus Éireann fleet, which is getting smaller as a result of getting older. A private operator invests in its fleet and I cannot answer the question as we have not analysed the data in that way. We could try to get back to the Deputy with an age profile for the vehicles in the school transport fleet and the Bus Éireann fleet. The average age of the buses on our risk indicator is simply a statistical fact.