Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be glad to do that. Stamullen is the largest town in Ireland with no public bus service. There is no private service either. The issue with the No. 109 route is a matter for Bus Éireann as there is no competing regular commuter service available to commuters on that route. Other parts of Meath have a regular private bus service that competes with Bus Éireann. The people who are paying the price of tickets, and tickets are not cheap now, are entitled to a service from Bus Éireann. It is not fair, or even contractual, for a full bus to drive past when no alternative is put in place. Private operators who are running commuter services could put alternatives in place. There should at least be some system whereby the bus takes the annual ticket holders first if there happens to be a shortage of bus space and, perhaps, provide another bus. It is not right that people are made late for work because of this. I appeal to the Minister of State and the National Transport Authority to do their best to deal with this.