Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

According to his response, the Minister has accepted that the decision is in his hands. He said the NTA will look at a reconfiguration of the public service obligation concerning these routes in such situations. It may also possibly consider a competitive tender for the provision of a route that requires a public service obligation.

Taxpayers' money is required to do this and it is stated that it is subject to funding from the Minister's Department. There is no point in the NTA proceeding if the Minister is not going to provide the necessary funding.

The Estimates meeting relating to the Department may already have taken place last week or it may be proceeding next week. When the Estimate for the Department comes before the House for approval, we will want to see that additional funding is being provided. Deputy McGuinness and I would like the Minister to indicate whether he gave commitments on this matter to the people he met in the past day or so. A temporary bus service, provided to get the Government over the hump until after the next general election, will be seen as just that. The public will see through any attempt to fool them for the next 12 months.

Does the Minister of State, Deputy Anne Phelan, to whom the Minister referred and who is responsible for rural development, have access to funding which might help ameliorate the position? The Minister of State is presiding over the withdrawal of services from rural areas, which is her mission and which is the reason she was appointed. It is important to make that point.

We know there are difficulties. The Minister cannot continue to give the €60 million or €70 million from the public service obligation to Bus Éireann, particularly in circumstances where it continues to withdraw services here, there and everywhere. Essentially, the company is now just a motorway bus operator and it is abandoning towns in every county throughout Ireland. Tipperary has been affected in this regard but the Deputies from that county will highlight that fact on another occasion. Deputy McGuinness and I are concerned about the routes from Castlecomer that runs into County Laois through Crettyard, Newtown, Ballylinan and on to Athy in County Kildare. Some routes out of Carlow have already been discontinued. The Minister indicated that this matter may be reconsidered but the NTA's letter clearly states that it has approved the relevant changes. We want the Minister to provide the funding to replace the services in question.

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