Mr. Stephen Kent:

We have tried to do some soul-searching. In circumstances like this when everybody is chasing extra drivers, we are still trying to make the right decision and it has to be an informed decision.

The information we have, in consultation with partners like the RSA, is that fatalities are increasing on the road and vehicles are getting longer, as well as two research studies we came across, one a 2012 Canadian study on truck drivers and buses and the other a 2021 European study. Both of those, especially the 2012 one, showed a 90% increase in the possibility of collisions from people aged 70 and 74. Somebody asked me if that 2012 study is still relevant today. The 2021 study said with ageing comes tiredness and all the things drivers do to mitigate against it. It is not only a trip in the morning. In many instances, they arrive in depots at 6 a.m., getting back from there at 10 a.m.or 10.30 a.m., going back out at 12.30 p.m. and coming back at 3.30 p.m. Hours of driving are put in.

The policy so far has served us well. We have Kentstown in the back of our heads from years ago when there was a very tragic accident. We do not want to be there given the scheme is expanding. That was not an older driver but there can be conditions attached to anything. We do not want a major incident when we are responsible for so many children. We are informed by the studies and the RSA.

We asked if there was anything else we could do and said we would co-operate with any study that might inform that. I understand the Department of Transport has been consulted on that and the Deputy will have to ask the Department if it will go forward on that.

Our position is that we are trying to operate it safely.