Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said, and he has stated repeatedly, that he is not in favour of privatisation and that he has no intention of privatising. He has not, however, answered my question on whether he would give a commitment that no further routes would be put out to tender to protect the existing services. Will the Minister give that commitment? As I said earlier, we do not know what the NTA will do next year or the year after. It could put all the routes out to tender or outsource them or whatever words the Minister wants to use other than privatisation, although it is still privatisation at the end of the day. Will the Minister give a commitment in that regard? I am sure if he is in disagreement with the routes being put out to tender, the NTA would have to adhere to his wishes. Will the Minister give the commitment that no further routes will be put out to tender to protect our public services? Is the Minister truly in favour of protecting, preserving and enhancing our public services, as opposed to outsourcing, tendering or privatising?

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