Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I appreciate Deputy McConalogue's view on this matter but if the previous Government did not have the money to provide a PSO service to Derry and the economic situation has deteriorated since then, I am sure he can understand why I do not have the money to restore a PSO service to Derry. Ultimately it came down to a choice. There can only be one service for the north west and it was a choice between Carrickfin or Derry and frankly, in my view, Carrickfin was the right choice. It is not necessarily a matter of logic but rather a matter of money.

I acknowledge it is very important to retain a PSO to Donegal precisely because it is isolated and there is neither motorway access nor rail access to the county. This is the reason both the Government and I regard it as important that the PSO be retained.

On contacts with Northern counterparts, a meeting was scheduled with Conor Murphy MLA, my counterpart, but the meeting was cancelled by them as the elections are under way in the North. We anticipate that in May there will be a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council and a bilateral meeting with the Northern Minister for Transport and all those issues will be discussed.

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