Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

One cannot have a level playing pitch if one side is subsidised by the taxpayer. How does the Minister propose to discount to private operators the advantage public operators will secure through having the taxpayers foot the cost of putting a bus on the road? This is an important issue.

The Freedom of Information Act expressly provides that individuals are not entitled to obtain sensitive commercial information. For instance, in tendering processes people are not entitled to receive full details of the various bids, although in many cases they are entitled to receive details of the successful tender. As someone who consistently argues for transparency, openness and accountability, I believe we cannot have enough freedom of information.

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