Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I offer the Minister my apologies. My substitute did not attend the meeting. I understood Deputy O'Keeffe represented the party at the meeting. I could not attend, due to a prior arrangement. Last week I could not attend the meeting and asked the Minister to facilitate a change in time, but he was unable to do so. I accept that, but it is deeply unfair and nonsensical on the part of the Minister to say that I do not play a role in the committee and engage with him fully.

There is major anxiety about what is happening with Bus Éireann. The Minister is aware of that and has been since the middle of the summer. Now, two weeks before the end of the year, he has brought the issue to the Cabinet. He has a significant role to play, given that he is the main shareholder in the company. Public meetings are being held throughout the country. People are terrified that they will not have a bus service in the new year and the Minister has done nothing to alleviate those fears, in fact, he is stoking them even further.

I ask the Minister to try to bring about a resolution. The unions need to talk with the management of Bus Éireann, but so too does the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the NTA. The unions and Bus Éireann are willing to sit around the table. Are the Minister and the NTA willing to sit around the table? A resolution must be found to this issue before there is further industrial action.

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