Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Mullins, who is a regular visitor to Leinster House, for his presentation. He keeps us well informed on the issues pertaining to his sector. Mr. Mullins's presentation was good in that it seeks to address some of the issues of concern.

On London Bus, I was part of a transport committee in 2004 which visited London Bus, at which time we were told that while there were service level agreements in place, the quality of the service diminished over time, with operators, having undercut each other to the extent that they were not able to deliver the service, having to effectively tear up their contracts. The cost to the national Government of taking control of the service again was enormous because of the deterioration in services. Are there any lessons to be learned from that which would allow service providers here ensure they are in a better position?

Mr. Mullins spoke of the benefits to the State. I am not opposed to what is being proposed but would like to tease it out with him. Mr. Mullins referred to significant savings and set out the experience in a number of other jurisdictions. However, additional costs will have to be borne by the State in managing the smaller bundles. Currently this is done by way of direct contract with one company, in respect of where there are also inherent failures. If we are to have multiple bundles the National Transport Authority will have to take on greater costs. In my opinion, there will be cost transfer rather than cost savings. Has Mr. Mullins undertaken any analysis of the costs in this regard?

On the transfer of undertakings, this is a real issue. I am not a labour law expert. However, it would be worth while taking a greater look at this issue in terms of costs and so on. If the new providers do not take on former CIE staff, this cost will have to be borne by Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus or the State, in terms of redundancies. While there are significant potential savings to be made, Mr. Mullins did not outline the additional costs likely to be borne by the State. I would welcome any further insight on that issue.