Results 17,341-17,360 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There is a famous saying from Mr. George Bernard Shaw that some people see things as they are and others dream of things that never were and say why not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I thank Ms Graham for her opening statement. Perhaps she could answer questions the Minister would not answer. Can she tell me the subsidy paid to Bus Éireann in 2016, give or take?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Was it €40 million?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: What was the subsidy paid to Bus Átha Cliath?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is give or take €60 million. Would Ms Graham agree that Bus Átha Cliath serves a population of about 1.2 million people, give or take?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Therefore, the subsidy is about €50 per person per annum.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Would Ms Graham agree that Bus Éireann serves a population of about 3.5 million, excluding Dublin? I am taking Dublin out of the equation completely, even though the NTA has many operations in the Dublin area, so that nobody can accuse me of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Therefore, the figure per head of population is about €11 per person. The NTA subsidises urban bus services in Dublin per head of population at a rate of between four and five times the rate for services in rural Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I did a degree in mathematics. Normally, when figures show something-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is what it is. Does she accept that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: At last I have got an answer to that question. Would Ms Graham also accept that if there were a bus service going between two depopulated villages of 50 people each and if it were the only bus service in rural Ireland, the cost of the subsidy per passenger would likely be very high?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: However, would Ms Graham think it would be a massive injustice at the same time to rural Ireland to call that a bus service?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: One per day-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: -----in the whole country for 3.5 million people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Again, the mathematics tell me that one takes an extreme example and proves one's point. Therefore, the reality, Ms Graham will accept, is that the subsidy per head of population is totally skewed towards urban areas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We agreed that figures tell the truth.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: May we move on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not want it to take up most of my time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is because there is a much greater subsidy for services in urban areas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2017)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We know that argument. We have seen it before.