Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all agree that if the service is there, more people will use it. The Minister mentioned performance reviews. I am sure he will agree that the service provided to date is not up to scratch. I ask him to confirm that is the case.

The Minister mentioned penalties. We have heard stories about the farcical situation where some bus drivers commence a route at stage eight or nine of the bus journey, rather than starting at the beginning. They drive straight through to stop eight or nine and complete the journey in order to avoid the inevitable fines that will accrue if the bus is late. It is unacceptable. To get a sense of the problem I reached out to some of my fellow TDs and received an avalanche of examples of services that were failing to deliver. It makes it all the more frustrating that the Government seems to be determined to continue with services that are failing to deliver. This was borne out by the recent chaos at Go-Ahead Ireland. In the response we received from the NTA, it agreed the service was inadequate and that Go-Ahead Ireland would be fined €5 million. It is not a new issue. Things are getting worse. Will the Minister outline why the contract has been renewed for a service that is so obviously failing to deliver?

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