Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Senators for their contributions and welcome their support for the Bill. I seem to receive cross-party support on each occasion I come into the House, which is very much appreciated, given the difficulties we are experiencing in public transport owing to economic circumstances. We have a considerable amount of work to do. However, there has been a considerable amount of positive developments.

In response to Senator Paschal Mooney, some of the ¤36 million provided by the Government has been allocated and the remainder will be allocated in due course. On the bus market, this issue is under consideration by the Government, following which a decision will be made. Reference was made to Bus Éireann's commercial services, including Expressway and so on. This is an operational matter for the company which has difficult decisions to make. I am aware of the cases referred to, which have been raised previously with me by another Member of the House. It is a difficult scenario. The Bus Éireann brand is trusted across rural Ireland and the service is much appreciated by the many people who use it. Bus Éireann is operating in a commercial environment in competition with private operators. It must strive to be competitive and in this regard needs to bring its scheduled journey times into line with those of private operators which may not have the same overheads or commitments in servicing different towns. We cannot, on the one hand, say Bus Éireann should be more commercial and able to balance its books and, on the other, that it should be able to service this, that or other town.