Mr. Brendan Crowley:

I would argue that they are still doing it. Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann still have their driving schools so nothing has stopped them other than whatever decisions they may have made themselves. There is no competition for the public service obligation element of Bus Éireann so competition does not come into it. They are fully State-funded and everything they do is competition-free, if you like.

To go back to a point I made some time ago, many companies have taken on the responsibility to provide training. The issue, however, is that there is uncertainty about how long somebody will have to wait for a test and, once they take the test, how long will it take before they can work. When we talk about lean, how many companies can afford to have a team of people on their books which they cannot put into service?