Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is being very hard on him at the start of a new session. The Minister confirmed to the Cabinet yesterday that he had not received the report but that, from what he had read about it in newspapers and elsewhere, the focus seemed to be more on the structure of the company and the conditions that apply there than on individual routes. He has already commented publicly that we will not see a diminution of service for places in rural Ireland that have lost out.

The Deputy is quite right that those who travel on them see the number and quality of buses - no more than the new ones Bus Éireann itself has bought - that are on the motorways. However, the fact of the matter is that it is losing €6 million a year and that needs to be addressed, which is now a matter for the management and the trade unions. The Government also has an interest. It has invested €40 million of public money into it. As I stated, despite the perception, it is not the case that there is some mysterious glut of new licences on the market. The process of granting licences can be reviewed and I will bring that to the attention of the Minister. In everyone's interests, I hope the discussions that will take place between the company and the unions on the matter-----

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