Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I do not accept that there is logic in the Deputy's argument in respect of the introduction of competition. There in competition in the bus market. Anyone can apply for a licence for any route. There are specific issues and considerations related to the issuing of a licence, but anyone may compete. Also, with the new directive in place from December of this year, there must be open competition for any new PSO routes. I do not understand the Deputy's logic of introducing more competition in the Dublin market to save money on the PSO. PSO routes are those on which a subsidy will be required irrespective of whether there is competition. The reason for PSOs is that the relevant routes are not commercially viable.

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