Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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On Mr. Ó Foghlú's statement on value for money, without proper costing methodology for the direct and indirect costs, members of this committee need an explanation on the financial transparency. We are well aware that over 89% of services under the school transport system are contracted out by Bus Éireann. It receives in excess of €220 million and administers the programme, despite only providing approximately 12% or 13% of the service. We have seen the behaviour of Bus Éireann this year, especially on the back of Covid-19, where it shut down the portal for a period of time. As public representatives, we had an outcry from parents and guardians who were left without any information or access to tickets. Mr. Ó Foghlú might think it is a good system that is fit for purpose but there are a lot of challenges around it. The costing methodology is hugely important to providing transparency, especially in this committee.