Public Transport

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 November 2017

Wednesday, 22 November 2017

Ceisteanna (31)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

31. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on whether the tendering process conducted by the National Transport Authority, NTA, for bus routes will help improve public transport and encourage persons to switch from private car transport; his further views on whether the tendering process will ensure there is not a race to the bottom in terms of workers pay and conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49564/17]

Freagraí ó Béal (8 píosaí cainte)

Deputy Bríd Smith

I have asked the Minister about this issue before, but I am asking again given the recent results from the tender process in Waterford and the problems that have arisen in delivering a proper service in Bus Éireann since the strike ended.

Deputy Shane Ross

As the Deputy will be aware, it is the responsibility of the National Transport Authority, NTA, to conduct the current public procurement process relating to the tendering out of 10% of the public service obligation, PSO, bus network. The NTA is undertaking this by way of three separate competitions: Dublin metropolitan, Dublin commuter and Waterford. It is well recognised that good public transport is a key enabler of both social inclusion and economic progress, and the progression of these competitions forms part of the Government's commitment to improving our public transport system and services. One of the objectives of the public procurement process is to bring about improvements and enhancements in how bus services are provided. The NTA has made it clear that it expects improved punctuality and reliability in particular as well as improvements in the customer service.

The NTA monitors all PSO services in Ireland and penalises operators if services fall below the contractual targets. This same approach will be taken with successful bidders in all three competitions. There are also incentives in the contract for beating punctuality targets. As quality of service is measurable, the NTA has set out in the contract the customer service levels expected, and the NTA will use the contract terms to drive up levels of customer service. All services operated under the new contracts will continue to be regulated by the NTA, as they are today. This means that Leap cards, the free travel pass, real-time information, the national journey planner etc. will all continue to operate on these services. The NTA has the statutory powers to determine fare levels, and will continue using its fares determination process to rationalise and improve the fare structure across all the different operators in the regulated bus market, including any new operators.

As the Deputy is aware, the PSO programme represents a significant expenditure of taxpayers' money. PSO subvention increased last year, again this year, and will increase yet further next year. Over the three years, PSO subvention will have increased by 35% in total. Taxpayers' contribution toward funding our PSO services is substantial.

Deputy Bríd Smith

Once again, I would love to have the job of whoever has the job of writing the Minister's scripts because it is always a fairy tale. It is probably done for children but it is certainly not done to address the questions I have asked. The Minister did not answer my question, just like he did not answer other Deputies' questions. The key point is that the Minister has said it is the responsibility of the NTA. Everything is the responsibility of somebody except the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Since the ending of the tough strike action taken by Dublin Bus workers to protect their jobs and pay earlier this year, services have been depleted and many workers are leaving the jobs. Many of the workers are under severe stress and strain because of the rosters they are provided with in the shoddy deal that was pushed on them because the Minister and others threatened that the company may be made insolvent. This rotten deal means that drivers are going around Dublin city having to walk from Busáras up to the Broadstone depot with bags of money, putting themselves at risk and under pressure to meet routes and timetables that do not work, are anti-family, are anti-social and are not delivering a public service. Will the Minister answer that, please?

Deputy Shane Ross

Deputy Smith cannot expect me to agree with her and I do not. Putting these routes out to tender is not a wage deal at all. It is a matter of introducing competition into the market. It is not a wage deal, which is a separate issue that was discussed in a separate forum and where a settlement was reached to the satisfaction of all parties. That is not related to this particular issue. The point of competition in the market is for the benefit of customers and for the service to improve. The NTA will also regulate whoever wins the tender. This is to give more choice, to give a better service and to keep fares down. All services will continue to be regulated by the NTA under the new arrangements. The new arrangements will benefit the travelling public in a number of ways, which I do not have the time to go into now, but the Deputy knows them herself.

Deputy Bríd Smith

Once again, the Minister has completely ignored my question. Does he believe that this process of tendering will deliver public transport in a way that will take cars off the road and that will not drive wages and conditions of workers to the very bottom of a pit? The Minister has refused to answer this. The reality is that the conditions and rosters under which workers have been forced to live are driving down their lives and working conditions so badly that many of the workers are leaving. There are not enough buses and not enough workers. Competition does not deliver good public services. This is not Bríd Smith saying this. This is not rocket science. If we want good public services, they must be delivered with proper funding. The Minister brags about the public service obligation, PSO, increases, over recent years. I remind the Minister that the PSO for Bus Éireann is still about €9 million below what it was when the recession hit in 2009. It has never been restored.

I attended a conference recently on climate change. Ireland is appallingly bad at dealing with it. One of the key issues is that Ireland is not able to deliver decent public transport. In not doing so, we are breaching all of our commitments to dealing with climate change and our commitments to dealing with workers.

Deputy Shane Ross

I will answer the Deputy's question. Do I hope this will take cars off the road? The answer is yes. Do not say that I am not answering the question. The answer is Y-E-S. I do hope it will do that. Does this answer the Deputy's question? Is that plain enough for her?

Deputy Bríd Smith

The Minister has just answered it.

Deputy Shane Ross

It is absolutely absurd for Deputy Smith to say that. The workers and staff are protected under this particular scheme. There will not be redundancies as a result of putting this out to tender. There will be none, so for the Deputy to suggest that the workers are in some way being laid off, they are not. They have options under these schemes. They have options to have similar terms of employment and options to move. There are no redundancies, so do not tell me that they are threatened by this. The conditions of these schemes are written specifically to protect the staff.