Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am sure that, like me and other Deputies, he has been contacted by school bus operators. I have been contacted by operators from across the country in my capacity as transport spokesperson. One in my constituency has 24 school contracts. It signed those when diesel was at 90 cent per litre. It buys 14,300 litres of diesel per week, which lasts only ten days. It has 27 staff but does not know what the future holds for them.

I accept the Minister of State's response, in which he outlined the current state of affairs. If school bus operators were in front of him today, they would be asking him when a decision was going to be made. I said that many were running at a loss, but all of those that signed contracts when diesel was well below its current price are actually running at a loss. I accept that considerations are being made, but I implore the Minister of State. From my perspective and that of school transport operators, time is of the essence. If there is an unnecessary delay, there is a risk that some of these businesses, which could be kept on the road, will not be. That is not something any of us wants to see.

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