Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am informed by the company with regard to Swanlinbar, Bawnboy and Ballyconnell that between five and ten passengers per day use each service. I realise this is extremely inconvenient for the 20 people or so affected but there are probably as many people, if not more, who are not using this service because of the route it currently takes. That is the type of decision Bus Éireann must make when providing a commercial service. The chief executive officer of Bus Éireann met the Wicklow and Wexford Deputies today about a similar issue, and I will use my offices to ensure the Deputies meet the chief executive officer and senior management directly to discuss this. The Deputies know the area and the local issues far better than I, and ultimately Bus Éireann is the decision maker in this regard.

Expressway services do not receive any subsidy from my Department. Therefore, I do not have the power to instruct the company to defer or change its decision. Solutions can be found, however, albeit partial solutions. There was a similar issue in the midlands a few weeks ago and it was possible to identify public service obligation, PSO, alternatives for people. They might not be able to get the bus they wish but they can at least get a PSO bus to somewhere that is served by an Expressway service. In another case, it was possible to give a licence to a private operator on a no-subsidy basis to provide a feeder service to a bigger town where passengers could then take the Expressway service. They might not be able to get it in the town in which they live, but they at least have a service. Those are the types of options that can be explored.

On Deputy Naughten's question about fraud and travel passes, that budget comes from the Department of Social Protection. There is a working group of officials from my Department and the Department of Social Protection examining those issues. Given the scale of the deficit and the losses occurring across the CIE companies, like the budget we must do in December it will not be a case of either-or but a series of measures, including fare increases and service reductions, that will be required to allow us to continue to have public transport in the State.

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