Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Public transport is not simply a matter of profit and loss. The laws of the free market and business do not have total control here, nor should they. In fact, the provision of public transport is one of the areas of public policy in respect of which it is important that the principles of equality and social need to remain key in determining the Government's role.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, lives in north Wicklow and, therefore, knows how crucial public transport is in meeting the economic and social needs of the people.

He is aware of the county's particular needs, in that more than 70% of the working population leave it everyday to go to work, while there is a large number of isolated rural communities that require public transport in order to meet vital needs such as health appointments.

No one argues that Bus Éireann does not need to be placed on a sustainable footing, but that goal must see the wider needs of society being placed at the centre of any viable policy. People living in Arklow and Wicklow town are becoming more reliant on the Expressway service to Dublin. The No. 133 Expressway bus is not just full of students, tourists and day trippers; many use it to access appointments at, for example, St. Vincent's Univeristy Hospital. Without Bus Éireann's services, these vital transport needs would not be met by private operators. For those living in many towns and villages in rural west Wicklow, for example, Carnew, Tinahely and Kiltegan, Bus Éireann is the only provider of transport services to Dublin. Are the people living in rural areas in County Wicklow and east Carlow not deserving of public transport services?

The Government makes a great deal of noise about rural Ireland, but its actions show a disregard for the provision of a quality of service for the people living in rural areas of County Wicklow. Deputy Robert Troy's motion is about policy, not personality. Public service, not profit margins, should be the Government's mission statement. Fine Gael has already let its mask slip, given the comments last week on the free travel pass for pensioners. We know from testimony before an Oireachtas committee last week that Bus Éireann is on life support and will close without urgent Government action. That would be a disaster and a failure on the part of the Cabinet.

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