Vol. 247 No. 11
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether in view of the recent statement by the general manager of CIE that the financial situation of the company was very serious, he proposes to increase the annual subvention to CIE and thus prevent any further increase in fares during the current year; and if he will make a statement on his plans for the future financing of CIE.
16.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether in view of the present serious financial position of CIE he will now set up a select committee of the Oireachtas to examine the entire operations of CIE before he introduces any further legislation to increase the State subvention to the company; and, if not, why.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 16 together.
As indicated by the general manager of CIE during the course of his press conference on Tuesday, 16th June, 1970, at which he announced the proposed increases in fares and rates, CIE, at the request of the Government, agreed to limit the increases so that they do not go beyond the Government's price control policy whereby increases in labour costs in 1970 in excess of 30s a week per worker are disregarded.
The additional revenue which will be produced from the increase in fares and rates will be inadequate to meet the substantial increase in the board's costs, which arise mainly from increases in salaries and wages and other increases in labour costs. I am at present considering what action is necessary to deal with the financial consequences for CIE of the limitation imposed on the increases in fares and rates.
I see no necessity to set up a select committee of the Oireachtas to examine the entire operations of CIE.
Would the Minister explain why it was that when he recently introduced the Transport Bill in this House he did not avail himself of the opportunity to reveal the full facts relating to the serious financial position of CIE, especially since the Minister was then in possession of the full facts revealed by Mr. Lemass last week?
The full facts as now revealed arise from the 12th round increases in salaries and wages and other increases in costs incurred by CIE. I should mention that labour costs account for 61 per cent of the operating costs of CIE.
I want again to ask the Minister to come clean on this and cut out the bluff. Is it not a fact that when he introduced the Transport Bill here last December making financial provision for the next five years for CIE, he was then in possession of the facts revealed by Mr. Lemass last week?
No.
The Minister was.
The 12th round wage and salary increases have all arisen since last December.
I had difficulty hearing the Minister's reply. Was he purporting to answer Question No. 14 as well as Nos. 15 and 16? I did not hear.
I have just answered Nos. 15 and 16, which I took together with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle.
What about No. 14?
We cannot go back to Question No. 14; it has been answered.
May I submit, a Cheann Comhairle, I sat down after my last supplementary question to Question No. 13 and the Minister rose and said he was answering Questions Nos. 15 and 16. I thought I might have misheard him and I waited to ask whether he was dealing with Question No. 14.
It was not answered.
Could we now have Question No. 14?
Question No. 14 was answered twice.
It was not answered at all.
I will answer it a third time.
Did the Minister answer it?
Yes.
Is the answer "Yes"?
Yes.
The answer is "Yes"?
Yes.
The answer was not "Yes" last night.
Question No. 17
