Seanad debates

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

3:00 pm

Photo of Sean BarrettSean Barrett (Independent)

In last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Business Post, Emma Kennedy estimated that at present, approximately 90,000 people hold Leap cards, which gets one a discount on bus fares, in the greater Dublin area. It cost €55 million to get the system up and running, which comes to more than €600 per person who holds such a card. The card gets one a saving of 11% on one's fares and the average Dubliner spends €140 per year. Consequently, by these calculations it will take 40 years before the passenger saves the cost to the taxpayer of giving him or her such a Leap card. I ask that this entire project be referred to the Comptroller and Auditor General to ascertain whether it makes any sense in financial terms.

I also wish to refer to the decision regarding Shannon Airport last week about which I believe the Minister to have been correct. Professor David Starkie, who is one of the leading experts in this field, has stated "improving the efficiency with which resources are used in the airports sector depends critically upon increasing the degree of competition between individual airports and, in the case of commercial services, at each airport site." However, the mysterious aspect of last week's announcement is that Cork Airport was not given such independence. In the presence of Senators Bradford and Colm Burke, I put forward the proposition that Cork people would be just as capable as people in the Shannon region of running their own airport and the Minister also should have given them their independence from the Dublin Airport Authority.

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