Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their insights.

Over the past two months or so, each member of the committee has been inundated with calls and emails from constituents about the current school bus fiasco. Though they have been very good and have tried everything to try to accommodate people, what we hear repeatedly from Bus Éireann management is that there are no drivers available. There might be a vehicle available and Bus Éireann may be committed to the route but there is no driver available. A huge number of people in the private sector are contracted in to fulfil this requirement. I have explained very simplistically what hundreds of issues boil down to. Can the council's representatives think of a way we could unlock more driver availability beyond what they have already stated in their opening statements?