Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not know what the Minister of State said. Anyway, it is sad. I remember that officials could be here all night.

There is ageism and discrimination against men and women who, when they reach 70, cannot drive a bus that does school runs, although they can bring people to matches and everything else. They are willing to get a doctor's certificate and to have a medical twice a year if necessary. The system should be changed as it is discrimination.

I must also mention the Waterford to Limerick rail line. It is disgraceful the way it is trundling along and has been abandoned. When people arrive in Clonmel station by bus or train, it is locked up and there are no toilet facilities or anything else. It is disgraceful for public transport to treat people like that.

I also wish to speak about the discrimination against rural transport users following the recent reduction in the cost of public transport. It is not all about Dublin, but as Dublin has been mentioned, I will refer to a previous Minister, Mr. Ross, who is guilty of appointing the CEO and other members of the board of the DAA in the past. He wrote a lovely book one time about the snouts in the trough. I wonder whose snouts he put in the trough - his own friends and those who campaigned for him. They are obviously unable to do the job. I am aghast at their singular ineptitude and failure. It will probably happen again next weekend because we do not have people with understanding and the wherewithal and everything else. It is a shocking indictment of different Ministers. The cronyism, nepotism and whatever you want to call it is disgraceful.

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