Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's fairness.

The key point about the Deloitte report is that significant work practice changes are required. I accept that the Harristown garage is one of the issues on the Finglas route. Dublin Bus is losing €2 million each year on that route. If it were to reorganise it, some €2 million could be saved. If there are 14 generic routes, Dublin Bus would save approximately €30 million within the system by changing it around and still keep all those people working. If it was changed, people could still have jobs.

I was shocked at the 20% out of service time for buses on that route. In other words, for 20% of the time the bus is being driven by the driver without any passengers on board because it is going to or from the garage or the location where the driver has his or her breaks. I accept the breaks are sacrosanct, but the drivers should travel in a different vehicle and the bus should be used for its public transport purpose. In comparison, out of service time in the UK is between 3% and 10%. Radical changes are required, but there is no need for all of these job losses.

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