Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not go over ground the previous speaker debated so eloquently. In a nutshell, there is unnecessary uncertainty around this motion, but we should examine the issue constructively. A review is ongoing and there are issues in regard to the challenges. One of the challenges concerns rural areas, where private operators are under considerable economic and financial pressure as a result of minimum subventions. We must ensure we address the rural challenges and that opportunities for bringing people into more urban areas are addressed. Another issue is disability access. There is still no disability access on Bus Éireann services from Letterkenny to Dublin. We must ensure this happens sooner rather than later.

I call on the Minister of State to intervene and to assist in regard to an issue relating to the Buncrana-Derry route. A private operator has taken over the Lough Swilly route and, because of the review, the fact existing contractors or operators get subvention does not mean the new operator will automatically get subvention or that it will recognise travel passes. We have a situation now where elderly people who want to travel between Derry and Buncrana, people with disabilities and people with invalidity passes are not recognised for free transport. The Minister of State may be heading for a higher position in the next 48 hours or less, but before then will he intervene in this regard and call on the Minister for Social Protection to examine the number of people on invalidity passes on the Derry to Buncrana route? Anecdotally, I believe there is a large number of people on invalidity or disability passes on this route and this should be acknowledged. It is not acknowledged currently as the review does not allow the new operator coming in to have the same dispensation as the previous operator. It should be acknowledged that this is wrong.

I will not go into the legacy issues in terms of transportation in the north west. Those issues are there to be seen. People, be they the elderly, people with invalidity passes or people on disability, who are trying to get from Buncrana to Derry do not have the option of rail or of using Iarnród Éireann or inter-urban routes. The only choice they have is this private operator, who although he is providing an excellent service cannot provide this free service because he gets no subvention. I ask for the Minister of State's indulgence on this and call on him to intervene directly to try to find a way around this issue.

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