Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

A lot of people tell me they are very dissatisfied with the bus service provided by Go-Ahead Ireland in Dublin. Buses do not turn up on time or there are ghost buses that do not turn up at all, yet the NTA continues giving contracts to that operator. Has it looked into this?

We have spoken about the all-island rail review. I live 80 miles away from the nearest train station. Mr. Creegan indicated this is not a rail issue the NTA deals with but has it been in discussion with Irish Rail on how to introduce connectivity, such as introducing bus services to Irish Rail services from places that have no station?

Reference was made to the ten-year age limit on taxi and hackney vehicles that was recently announced by the Minister. By the time consultation started, I was told the wording had changed to refer to taxis only. Why were the hackneys dropped? If a vehicle has a full NCT certificate, which means it has passed all tests, why is it being taken off the road? It could be a perfectly good vehicle. In rural communities, vehicles might not see as heavy a usage as elsewhere. I cannot understand why such vehicles would be pulled off the road after ten years even if the driver has full certification.