Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. I have had discussions with the company and I will continue to impress upon it the points the Deputy makes. In fairness to all the CIE companies, whether it is Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann or Iarnród Éireann, they have all become much more efficient and have improved their productivity. Many of them have done a great job in transforming themselves in recent years. We cannot ask them to be commercially sensitive and maximise the moneys they earn on the one hand and expect them not to be an exceptional burden on the taxpayer on the other. The problem we will face is whether it is a good idea that the taxpayer should subvent freight movement throughout the country. That is a road I would be loath to go down in terms of the taxpayer subsidising the private sector for the movement of its goods throughout the country. That is a serious question that must be answered.

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