Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not dwell on it, but the National Transport Authority entered into contracts with private operators for public services on the mainland. If we can alter this in terms of contracts with private companies on the mainland, why can we not do it with contractors servicing our islands? The legal issue in relation to this is the same. It is a contract with a State body to provide a service and a contracted level of subsidy, in terms of the bus services we have in any other part of the country. How is there such a big challenge regarding the service to the offshore islands, particularly when the reduction could be applied specifically to the island transport fee rather than to the general population using the ferry service?