Mr. Martin Nolan:

We are where we are.
Bus Éireann is a complex company with a public service ethos that has been competing successfully across a range of public and commercial products. Its success in keeping these products bundled is fundamental to maintaining services in rural areas. The basicincome of the scheme for small contractors has a much wider bearing on keeping the rural social fabric going. We are a well governed company and group with the appropriate checks and balances. We have recently agreed that the Comptroller and Auditor General can have access to our financial records for schools. To our knowledge this is the first time a semi-State company has done this. The company also comes under the freedom of information legislation. We are a company that thinks national but acts local for the good of the community. The vast majority of Bus Éireann staff live in the communities in which they work and understand their duty of care and responsibility to deliver people from A to B in a safe, effective and efficient manner.
The school transport scheme does not make a profit for Bus Éireann. All moneys received under the scheme are spent on the scheme. Bus Éireann has significant skill and expertise in all aspects of operating a safe and efficient school transport scheme and these skills are utilised by the Department of Education and Skills in order to operate the scheme. School transport is a very different operation from the PSO services. Its remit is much more than just transport, it was established with the objective of facilitating equality of access to primary and post-primary education by providing transport to children who might otherwise have difficulty in attending school regularly. The school transport scheme is administered by Bus Éireann and is designed to assist in implementing educational policy as determined by the Department of Education and Skills.
I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to address the committee and I welcome questions.