Vol. 424 No. 2
5 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Education the reason the Deloitte and Touche report and recommendations on the operation of the school transport scheme has not been published; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The report was based on a study which included confidential information on cost factors relating to both Bus Éireann's operation and the operation of private transport firms.
As this information was provided on a confidential basis, it would be improper of me to publish the report.
Would the Minister acknowledge that the report — I have a copy in front of me — has been circulated widely? Indeed, I have received the copy from two sources. Would the Minister further agree that the report was drawn up by one of the top ten consultancy companies in the world, that it was paid for out of public funds, that the public are entitled to know what the contents are and what recommendations have been made, in particular the recommendation that we should retain the existing mix of public and private transport in relation to the operation of the school transport service?
I hope the Deputy is aware by now that normally I am very much in favour of the idea that as much information as possible should be published but in this case it was stated at the time the report was submitted that it contained information which was commercially sensitive. However, as the Deputy said, its contents are widely known. They are an excellent consultancy firm and have done a very fine job. They have indicated and acknowledged that Bus Éireann provide a cost-effective service. However, they did not address the question of devolution fully and how this should be married with the bus system. I want to study that question and that is the reason I commissioned an additional study.
Given that he has commended this consultancy firm for the work they have carried out why did the Minister call them in to ask them whether they could stand over certain elements of the report? Why is a second study now being carried out by Carleton Bastow which, with all due respects to them, are a much smaller consultancy agency? Could the answer be that the findings of this report are unpalatable given the Minister's own theories on the question of privatisation?
It is widely known that I was not fully satisfied with the conclusion reached in that consultancy study. While it addressed and reached a conclusion on the question of whether the service was cost-effective I do not have to accept its conclusions. I had difficulty in accepting some of them. However, I particularly want to study the question of devolution. The Deputy has to understand that we now spend £37.5 million on this service and I have to be absolutely certain that it is cost-effective in getting our children to school safely and on time. If the findings of the new study support this that will probably be the end of the argument.
When will the new study be published?
I hope to have it within a few weeks and it will then have to be discussed by the Government.
