Newspaper headlines are an editor's responsibility.

I remind Senators, six weeks ahead of the local elections, of the old cliché that perception is everything in politics. It is not about the reality. Even Irish Rural Link has been chilled to the bone. I am shocked by the statements of the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, because it is a proven fact throughout the world that public services, particularly bus and rail services, are not expected to make a profit. There is an obligation on the Government of the day to provide social services for the people they represent. That is the bottom line. This does not take in any way from their being efficient or run efficiently. A cost benefit analysis was carried out approximately a decade ago by consultants employed by the then Fianna Fáil Government which showed that irrespective of whether there would be increased numbers, the Dublin-Sligo rail service would never be viable.

They got it wrong.

Is the Senator looking for a debate on the issue?

Yes. The rail service would never be viable because there would always be a population imbalance between the west and east of the country. It is a fact of Irish life. If what the Minister stated is endorsed by the Government, woe betide the Fine Gael and Labour Party candidates who will go before the electorate in six weeks time, particularly those in my part of the country-----

The Senator is over time.

They will rue the day they stayed quiet when the Minister threatened to shut down another service in rural Ireland.

It has to do with usage.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Taoiseach or the Minister come to the House today to explain and clarify the Government's attitude to and policy on rural Ireland, not only on this issue. It is long past time that the Government was brought to account for the measures it has taken in the past three years. As has been explained by my colleague, Senator Marc MacSharry, it is totally unacceptable and the Government will reap the whirlwind on 23 May.