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

The silence of the Minister, Deputy Ross, is truly deafening and is certainly unnatural for him. We read in theSunday Independenthow he chose to nitpick sloppy grammatical errors rather than discuss the actual content of the most recent road safety report at a time when the number of deaths on the roads is increasing. He seems unable to take ministerial accountability seriously and has decided to revert to being a journalistic commentator and master of distraction.

Has the Minister not read the Grant Thornton report? What exactly did he brief the Cabinet on yesterday? Does he agree with the Grant Thornton report, which states that there are limited strategic reasons for the State to have ownership of a commercial bus business? There is a role for commercial activity in a regulated market, but will the Government stand by and allow commercial activity to cherry-pick lucrative routes and allow many regions, including the Taoiseach's area, to be deprived of public transport?

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