Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with that, hopefully, in consequential order.

First, the €3 million is not going to Go-Ahead. That is not what happens. It is a cashflow issue. In other words, it is bridging a gap. It is a working capital requirement for bus market opening. It arises from the gross cost contract arrangement, to which the Chairman referred, with Go-Ahead and Bus Éireann for BMO routes whereby the NTA will collect all fare revenues and bear the associated revenue risk. In other words, it is bridging. The working capital requirement is driven by a combination of the timing difference between the contractual payments to the relevant operators and the subsequent drawdown from the Department. It includes an amount to mitigate the revenue risk of the annual estimated fare revenue in the event that forecasted revenues are lower than expected. It is a bridging cushion. It is certainly not handing over money to Go-Ahead. The €3 million is not going to Go-Ahead.