Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

I thank Senator Daly for sharing time with me. Fortunately, I had this discussion last week with the Minister of State but I would like to have a few issues clarified concerning it. Last week, the Minister of State said that the changes implemented this year are expected to produce a saving in the order of €3.5 million and there will still have to be another €13.5 million in savings over the next three years. This week he is telling us that savings of €4 million are expected in 2011 and €14 million up to 2014. I would like to know which figures are correct because these figures differ from those provided by the former Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, in reply to a parliamentary question tabled last year by my colleague Deputy Martin Ferris. Where will the further savings come from? Families struggling from one week to another - one in five of which have only €70 at the end of the month after paying bills - will be unable to send children to school safely. The minimum number of children needed to retain a school bus route will rise from seven to ten, so how many children will be left without a bus service due to this stroke-of-the-pen exercise? It seems to be the tip of the iceberg when we examine the €13.5 million to €14 million savings that are coming down the line. What is next? Will we be imposing road tax on schoolchildren's bikes when they cycle to school? Clarification is needed in this regard.

The Minister of State said he will be getting the forthcoming Bus Éireann study soon but when exactly will he receive it? In addition, how will that study feed into the impending crisis in September? If these findings are supposed to inform the Minister of State, we should get them as soon as possible.