asked the Minister for Communications the expected amount of the subsidy to be paid in the forthcoming financial year in respect of Dublin city bus services.

The Exchequer subvention for CIE is being settled in the context of the decisions in relation to the 1987 budget. The allocations to the individual CIE subsidiaries will be a matter for settlement by the board in the light of the global subvention.

Will the Minister indicate whether in the light of the size of the subvention which he cannot reveal now but of which he is presumably aware if he has any plans to pass the control of the Dublin city bus company into private hands?

The Deputy has correctly stated that I am not in a position to give a breakdown, the reason being that in the normal Book of Estimates when the global subvention is given a breakdown of where the subvention applies is also given. In the provisional 1987 Estimates the global figure only is given. With regard to the second part of the Deputy's question, I have no policy with regard to the privatising of Dublin city bus services.

Is the Minister considering that issue?

I am not considering it as of now. I am considering the possibility of developing the Dublin city bus services to the extent that they should be viable services making a profit.

Is the Minister considering the issue?

No, he is not. That is one for the Law Library.

Is it to be inferred from the Minister's reply that he has departed from setting separate objectives for each of the three companies which constitute CIE? Is it not the case that certain targets have been set for Dublin city bus services?

If the Deputy had been listening to the first part of my reply it would indicate the difficulty as of now. As I stated in my reply, the breakdown has not been given in the Book of Estimates. We are very near the moment of truth with regard to all those matters. Last year £18 million was mentioned in the detailed Book of Estimates for 1986. No such breakdown has been given this year, but no doubt, today being budget day, these figures will be available.

On a segregated basis?

Yes.

Is the Minister in a position to state the total amount of money lost by CIE to private bus operators last year, and thereby lost to the taxpayer?

That seems to be a separate question, Deputy.

In view of the high level of fares which operate in the Dublin city services, does the Minister expect the services to return to a surplus or a break even position which was the situation in the Dublin city services when they were part of the whole bus service throughout Ireland and when we were told they subsidised fares for the rest of the country?

I recall when that was so, but it has not been the case for some time. It is a reasonable objective to try to improve services to such an extent that the citizens will avail of them in such numbers that we can break even and finally make a profit.

In the light of the Minister's reply and the high cost of this burden to the State, would he consider offering franchises to private bus owners to operate routes in the Dublin area which are not fully serviced by CIE?

As of now, I have no such study under way and I am not considering it.

Would the Minister consider commissioning such a study?

Not at the moment.