Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

In fairness, Bus Éireann, as Deputy O'Dowd acknowledge earlier, uses private companies. It has been much better at using private companies and sub-contracting. I agree with the Deputy that the company should do more, either through sub-contracting or through the company's own system, to use smaller buses and vehicles.

On Deputy O'Dowd's point about An Post, he will be aware that the Department has put in place a number of rural transport pilot schemes where Bus Éireann is involved. I take up the point he made on An Post's end of that because we have been mainly focussed on the HSE and health services. It is something I will raise in the context of that review of rural transport.

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