Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly try not to continue in the vein the Cathaoirleach is complaining about. Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the 50th anniversary of the free travel scheme. It was a provision from Charles J. Haughey's first budget when he was Minister for Finance and it has been a fantastic success over the years. I do not believe any Government will try to remove it.Many people cannot really benefit from the free travel pass because Bus Éireann buses are in the 19th day of not serving residents. It creates huge problems for people who use the bus services, including students trying to get to school and to work. I am not talking about school buses but about people trying to get to college. Equally, there are problems for older people who may not be in a position to drive any more or do not have a car. It also causes problems for our tourism industry.

We should remind the Minister that, as well as having responsibility for transport, he also has responsibility for tourism. He is responsible, as the 100% shareholder on our behalf in Bus Éireann, for having an involvement in this. It is not good enough that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is going around saying it is nothing to do with him. Bus Éireann was probably the jewel in the crown of CIE for many years. It was the company which required the least subsidy. It is losing €9 million a year at the moment. It losing €500,000 a day during this strike. We have already managed to have Bus Éireann lose more money in the last 19 days than it lost in the entire last year, based on the figures available, which puts the company in very serious financial difficulty. I call on the Minister to come to the House and explain to us exactly why he will not get involved. I never mentioned a chequebook, and I do not think many people mentioned chequebooks, but he is required to get involved. The fact that it does not affect his own constituency is not a reason that the Minister should not get involved with Bus Éireann.

When the National Transport Authority was set up, it gave private licences to private operators who operated directly. That took many customers away from Expressway because, understandably, if one wants to go from Galway to Dublin, one would prefer to go direct rather than to go through ten or 11 towns, or 18 or 19 towns - whatever the number - along the way. If Expressway is now operating what is effectively a public service obligation, PSO, service, because it has lost all its main revenue from the customers who are now gone, it is important that we get the Minister in here to explain and express our own issues.

My second, smaller point is that I will be supporting Senator Ivana Bacik. The all-party cycling group is a great idea. I cycle in here as regularly and often as I can, and home as well. It is subject to weather conditions and other things, but it is a great way to get around. I think Bus Éireann-----