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

I note the Deputy's comments and in her previous role as transport spokesperson and a member of the transport committee she took a very active interest in this area. The NTMA's proposal is to tender out some contracts from the end of 2016, although they would have to be awarded some time before that. They would run for five years until 2021. I cannot look into a crystal ball and say what will happen beyond that. Many things can change in the world between now and then. We should not assume that the contracts will go to non-State operators. It is open to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to tender for those contracts. Private operators I have met always say they can provide a better service for the same price. Most of us will have met them and the groups which represent them. This is an opportunity to test them out, call their bluff and see if that is the case.

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