Mr. Billy Hann:

I thank Deputy Moynihan for his support of public transport. When it comes to the delivery of the PSO services, we are contracted to the NTA to provide those services. They are prescribed. The number of routes is prescribed. The number of bus stops, the punctuality requirements and the liability requirements are well documented within the contract. It does not include events. Dublin Bus is set up to provide a service to meet its public service obligations and meet its direct-award contract obligations.

When we get notified of events, through either Dublin City Council or the NTA itself, we will happily, if we can, provide extra services to that event, but it is not always possible and we cannot do it at the expense of protecting the core network. At times, we will bring in bus drivers on overtime, which, by the way, is an expense to Dublin Bus which is not re-compensated. That comes off our bottom line. We do provide that from time to time, but if I bring a person in on overtime, let us say, for an event on a Saturday, they are not available to me then on a Sunday or a Monday, depending on the time constrictions around that.