Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I am amazed by the Minister for Transport's flip-flop on this issue. It is similar to that which occurred in respect of driving licences. A couple of weeks ago, the Minister indicated that he was not in favour of increased competition in the bus market. It is clear that he is under a great deal of pressure from his colleagues in government, the Progressive Democrats. The former Minister, Deputy Brennan, was going to increase competition to 25% of the bus market. Under Deputy Dempsey's immediate predecessor, Deputy Cullen, that figure dropped to 15%. Prior to today, the Minister's stated policy was that there would not be any further competition in the bus market. Why the flip-flop? Why has the Minister changed his mind? What is the true story and what are the facts?

I wonder if the Minister received another ticking off from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, who last week stated that he wants to improve public transport capacity by quickly increasing the number of buses on the streets of Dublin. How can this be done unless the share of the Dublin bus market in respect of which private bus operators can tender is increased?

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