Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will abide by the ruling of the Ceann Comhairle. The Minister, Deputy Ross, is not responsible for what has happened. Bus Éireann commissioned a report from Grant Thornton into the circumstances and conditions that apply to the company. As I pointed out yesterday, the commercial arm of Bus Éireann, Expressway, is losing €6 million a year. That is the reality and it is a commercial problem.

It is important to note that those losses have not been caused by Government funding because Bus Éireann's PSO network is performing very well, financially and operationally. Last year it received €40 million in PSO funding, 17% more than in 2015. The PSO services carried almost 32 million people, an increase of 5% on the previous year. The new chief executive asked what the company needed to do in this regard.

The losses related to Expressway services, which compete with other operators. There has been very strong growth in the commercial bus market, with almost 23 million people using commercial buses in 2015. This growth has not been felt in the Expressway arm of Bus Éireann.

As I stated yesterday, contrary to some reports a glut of new licences has not been issued in recent years. In fact, only eight licences have issued since 2011 while 11 applications were rejected. These changes to the bus market have seen some towns and villages lose services. However, some areas that lost commercial services have seen public service obligation services put in place by the National Transport Authority in recent years to ensure connectivity and that the people the Deputy referred to have a service.

The Minister, Deputy Ross, has already commented that, in the context of a decision to be made following discussions between management and trade unions in Bus Éireann, the National Transport Authority and the Government will see to it that services will be replaced if there is a reduction in them. This is not the first time this has happened. There is quite an extensive rural transport scheme in operation and the Government will see to it that it is maintained in the interest of people throughout the country.

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