I want to express concern about what was raised by Deputy McNamara. It is very serious and I hope it can be clarified at the earliest stage possible.

I want to raise the issue of buses. Hardly a week goes by without my office being contacted by several people for whom buses have disappeared. The buses never show up or they are extremely late.

Is there a Bermuda triangle down there in Cork?

At the minute it certainly does seem like that. I want to make very clear that it is not the responsibility of the drivers. What is happening fundamentally is that there is a shortage of drivers in Cork city. I would be very surprised if the Tánaiste's office is not getting the same calls.

Many routes are particularly badly affected, including the 14, the 203, which was the Tánaiste's father's route I believe, the 220 and the 208. Bus services had been improving for several years but over the past 12 months, things have gone significantly backwards. Will the Tánaiste work with the NTA and Bus Éireann to ensure the extra drivers are taken on and people are not left stranded waiting for 40 minutes or an hour for a bus that should arrive every 20 minutes. This is happening every morning and every night at present. It is no fault of the drivers but there are not enough of them.

I support absolutely the recruitment of further bus drivers. I believe the NTA is before the Committee of Public Accounts today and as much pressure as possible should be brought to bear. We are in a full employment era, which means many agencies have challenges with recruitment. Certainly we will be very supportive of this.