Skip to main content
Normal View

Dublin Bus Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 October 2014

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Questions (1)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

1. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the industrial relations issues at the CIE group of companies; the cost to the taxpayer of the proposed tendering of 10% of public transport bus routes; his plans to improve bus travel times in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36860/14]

View answer

Oral answers (12 contributions)

I welcome the Minister; I think this is our first Question Time with him in the hot seat, as it were. I wish him well in his role.

In his first days as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, he was faced with the transport companies, particularly Irish Rail, on the verge of industrial unrest. The strike went ahead and I was disappointed that he took so long to involve himself in trying to find a resolution. Notwithstanding that, I ask him to update the House on the status of the industrial relations issue at the moment with the entire group of companies. He might also deal with the cost to the taxpayer of the proposed tendering of 10% of public transport bus routes, and any plans he, the NTA or the transport companies have to improve bus travel times in the Dublin area.

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I look forward to working with him, Deputy Ellis and Deputy Halligan both here in the Chamber and in the relevant Oireachtas committees during the time ahead.

Irish Rail management, SIPTU and the NBRU recently engaged in further discussions with the Labour Relations Commission to avoid further disruption and damage to Irish Rail’s business. I am hopeful that the deal concluded on 3 September will be accepted by the employees and further disruption to services will be avoided. Cost-saving measures were agreed in Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann in 2013, which included temporary changes to terms and conditions for their employees.

I am informed by the National Transport Authority that it expects the outcome of the tendering of 10% of public transport routes to commence in late 2016, with the same level of service at a reduced cost. In addition, competitive pricing of services will lead to benchmark pricing, which will inform the NTA on the appropriate cost of bus services.

The NTA has statutory responsibility for the strategic planning of transport in the greater Dublin area. In the performance of that role, I am informed by the NTA that it is working with Dublin City Council to undertake a transport assessment study of Dublin city centre. I understand they expect to complete that study in the coming months and that the joint report will contain extensive proposals for enhancement of public transport movement within the city. It is intended that the report, when completed, be made available for public consultation and for consultation in the House.

I will come back to the Minister.

I am also informed-----

Sorry, Minister; I will come back to you. We have to stick to the time limits.

I wish to make one brief point in response to the final point the Deputy put to me. I know that Dublin City Council is working with Dublin Bus to identify particular issues in bus transport, and perhaps I can go into that in more detail with the Deputy.

I appreciate that the question has a number of parts and it is difficult to get it done in the time; that may be an issue for the House at a later stage.

I have always raised concerns about the partial privatisation of certain routes within the network. We only need to look at the experience with London Bus. The Minister might not have had a chance to read himself into what happened with London Bus when it went down the privatisation route. On the face of it, it seemed like a good idea. It looked at the potential for reducing costs while maintaining the same service, but sadly that was not the case. While costs decreased, the service became degraded over time, and unfortunately, when the state had to re-involve itself to try to bring the service back to an acceptable level, it took a hell of a lot more money because, as a result of the poor delivery of service, notwithstanding the service level agreements, passengers effectively moved away from London Bus. We need to be careful to ensure that any action or misadventure by virtue of this privatisation will not result in such a modal shift away from public transport. I have real concerns about that and I ask the Minister to look at the London Bus experience to ensure he is satisfied that this policy decision is appropriate from his perspective.

I am very much aware of the experience with transport in the London area and the role of Transport for London in that regard. I am very committed to the continued development of a high-quality bus service for the city of Dublin and well beyond that through Bus Éireann and through the role of private bus operators. That is why, in the Dublin area at the moment, Dublin Bus is undertaking a number of pieces of work in conjunction with the city council to improve the availability and quality of the bus service. I point to two pieces of work in particular: the work taking place in the Thomas Street and James's Street area, and the works under way in Drumcondra to put in place improved bus access down Drumcondra Road and into the city centre.

On the future of the bus market in Ireland, I emphasise that what we propose is the tendering out for competitive contract of 10% of bus routes at the moment. I am committed to the role of a public bus service in the future. We are looking at 10% of those services. As those contracts are awarded, it will result in certainty over a five-year period for those routes and others. The sole reason this is being done is to ensure we have better availability, quality and diversity of services at the same or reduced cost to the taxpayer.

When looked at in detail, it is more of an ideological decision than anything else. The Minister's party, when in opposition, talked a lot about effectively privatising the public transport network as it applied to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. It was not possible with Iarnród Éireann, since it has no capacity to make profit. There seemed to be an agreement between Fine Gael and the Labour Party that at 10% everybody won. The Minister should be in no doubt that the hawks within his party want ultimate privatisation of the bus network. Ten percent, in terms of the cost savings, will be minimal. I have every expectation that the large companies that come in will meet their service level agreements for the five years and will carry any losses if necessary in order to do that. However, the long-term game here - this is what concerns transport workers - is about privatisation and the dismantling of a public transport network that has been built up over many generations. If the Minister continues with that policy decision, he is ultimately allowing a process to begin in which the endgame is very clear.

This is the second time this morning that the Deputy has described me as right-wing or hawkish in my actions or statements.

Not the Minister; his party.

I am not interested in implementing a policy based on being right-wing. I am interested in implementing the right policy, which is to put in place a mechanism regarding 10% of the bus routes with the sole objective of improving choice to passengers. As the Deputy is aware, under EU law we will be obliged to meet requirements regarding workers who will be affected by it. A series of rounds of discussion and structured engagement have taken place between the NTA and the bus unions on the matter. Before the summer, I wrote to the unions emphasising the importance of it, and three rounds of discussion have taken place. This is about putting in place an appropriate level of tendering to bring competitive tension into the market for the long-term benefit of everybody. Across the period of the difficulties in Irish Rail, I have made a commitment to go into the current round of budgetary negotiations and maintain subvention to the Irish Rail group, which we have not been able to do in recent years, in recognition of my respect for and understanding of the role of public transport companies. Where appropriate, we need to have a level of competitive tension for the benefit of passengers and everybody in the bus market in the long run.

Top
Share