Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There was an understanding in the previous Dáil that the Minister would come in and, if the Minister was not available, the Deputy would have the option of deferring the matter until the Minister was available to come into the House. No such option was afforded to me. We are back to the bad old days. Bad habits die hard in this House. The Acting Chairman has been here much longer than I am and he knows as well as I do that one brings and progresses something but the minute one's back is turned, it regresses to the old system.

I raised this issue immediately after the announcement that bus and rail fares were to be reduced by 20% on the mainland. When I raised it with the Minister, I was given a number of reasons why it could not happen. I pursued the matter in our parliamentary party with the Taoiseach and spoke to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, who had no problem funding any change. After that, I was told the matter was referred to the Attorney General.

What was the big problem on the islands? I was told it was that there are private companies providing services to the islands and that that was not the case with bus and train services. That is not true. For example, Expressway does not benefit from the 20%, nor do the many other private companies providing regular bus services. On the other hand, as I told the Minister the first day, there is a unique arrangement on the islands because there are contracted services put out to public tender. In putting them out to public tender, there is a unique islander rate. If an islander goes on the contracted service, he or she does not pay the commercial fare but a rate predetermined by the Department. I introduced that process. I remember setting the adult return fee at €8, no matter what boat service was taken or how far out into the sea it went. That was the maximum. It was €5 for students and youth and nothing for those under five years of age. That was raised to €10. This is unique. If you go on the private operator that operates commercially, there is no obligation on that operator to provide that service. That is the rate we want reduced. We do not want to touch the commercial rates, which are a matter for the operator. As I remember, the operator stated the commercial rate and set the rate, whereas the islander rate was set by the Department. I had hoped that in the intervening weeks, the Department would have looked at the issue instead of giving the push-off.

The other thing those in the Department seem to think extraordinary is that this is for buses and trains and I am looking to apply it to an air service to the Aran Islands and a boat service. I was on Inis Mór today at a funeral and there is not much point in offering a train service from that island to the mainland. We do not have underwater rail. Nor is a bus service practical. I do not think the mode of transport makes much difference. I ask for this issue to be dealt with and for the islander-only unique fares to be reduced by 20% forthwith. The year is going on, the scheme has been in place for nearly two months and we have no movement on it.

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