Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I hope to do that. I want to get to the core of what the Minister and I are saying. There is a significant division of thought between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour concerning the opening of competition in our transport systems. Deputy Broughan spoke about a State-controlled system and the Minister of State mentioned an award system for State companies to the exclusion of everybody else. That is a fundamental part of the Minister of State's view and he is wrong. The Minister of State has said that we are extreme in our view to want more people to have more choice of buses and have more people working in these companies. That is a reasonable position and it is the Government which is extreme.

I shall discuss the meaning of the Minister of State's position. In 1999, the subsidy to Dublin Bus from the taxpayer was €16.8 million. In 2009, that subsidy had risen to €82.4 million.

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