Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Owens. I am sorry that he was here, then we were gone and now we are back. That is the nature of committees. I am deeply impressed to hear that he was educated on Eblana Avenue. I spent 25 years right next door to him in the Senior College Dún Laoghaire, which later had classrooms on Eblana Avenue. There has been some change to the buildings in that sector. I have to put this on the record and it is nothing to do with Mr. Owens at all. Bringing him in here to make a submission to the committee is a waste of time, when all we can do is thank him for coming. We have no jurisdiction or say as to whether he is a good or a bad chairman. His curriculum vitae is impeccable. The only thing I would say is that during the Covid-19 pandemic, his members served the State really well. They turned up for work every day and drove around the city, making sure that people got to their workplaces, knowing all the time that they themselves were in danger of picking up whichever strain of Covid-19 was prevalent. Dublin Bus has a tremendous workforce, running the transport system in Dublin. As he takes over as chairman, I ask him to embrace that type of commitment. It is not often that one sees it in public service, but they pushed themselves way beyond what is required of any public servant at a time of an emergency.

I do not have anything else to say to Mr. Owens other than to wish him all the best as he moves into a challenging time, with the green agenda and so on. I thank him for coming here. I hope the Chairman takes notes on my negative comments about wasting Mr. Owens's time and our time.