Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

In the past ten years the population of this city has increased by more than 100,000, and the populations of counties Meath and Kildare and the area immediately outside Dublin have increased by another 100,000. Throughout that period, as the Taoiseach will be aware, the space given over to quality bus corridors has been quite limited, with a limited increase in the number of buses provided. Four county managers appeared before last week's meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and complained about the lack of space being allocated to quality bus corridors and the lack of buses in their areas.

Last Sunday the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, announced in his usual way that the Government was abandoning its policy of competition on bus routes. The Minister now seems happy for the hard-pressed commuters, who are central to the life of the city, to need to continue to rely on a single bus provider for transport to and from their localities. More important, as the Taoiseach is only too well aware, the outlying areas such as Tallaght, Edenmore, Raheny, and Poppintree, where the service is really not as it should be, are now really caught. The limited competition that has been provided has worked exceptionally well and those who use it are happy about it because it resulted in all public transport providers lifting their game, which is right and proper.

Why has the Government turned its back on what has been Government policy for ten years? What is so unique about Dublin Bus that commuters will need to continue to rely on a single bus provider in this city and its outlying areas? If competition has worked so well in airlines, why is it not applied in the case of buses, which would have the interests of the commuter at heart in terms of ease of access, convenience of travel and greater opportunities, allowing the life of the city to thrive?

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