Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was very supportive of it. I know it happened in previous years. The four weeks were good because after going to the bother of buying the card and registering, people got value for their time especially if they had a few children. We have spoken at so many other meetings about a cultural change in the area of public transport and the idea of getting people out of their cars. If that is not fostered in children, they will not suddenly hop on a bus after being ferried around in a car until they reach 18. It was a great initiative and I would love to see it expanded next summer. If schoolchildren in the busy city areas got transport free, that would be a huge incentive for parents.

There was an advertising campaign in bus shelters in respect of the BusConnects proposal. I have been told that, before tax, €77,000 was spent on print and design. Is that true? As Deputies, we spend a lot of money on print and design but €77,000 is a great deal.