Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Murphy and his staff for their presentation. He mentioned the benefit to consumers. The greatest benefit to consumers would be a proper public transport system. Dublin Bus passenger numbers are beginning to increase and that appears to be working.

The Deloitte study and the Finglas corridor have been mentioned. The Finglas corridor was chopped to bits. The two No. 19 routes were amalgamated into the No. 9 route and there were other changes which affected services that were hard-won by communities. Communities have fought to get these services and there is still an impact, to this day, on them. Dublin Bus has done this.

I totally disagree with the entire approach and this is a road to privatisation, although the authority may say something different. There is the argument it is only affecting 10% of services five years down the road but ultimately it will open the door to privatisation. We must consider some of the orbital routes that are to be affected, as well as those in Waterford, where Bus Éireann will operate. There is absolutely no doubt that if these go out to tender, they will be cut to bits and managed in a way that will seek maximum profit. There is no doubt that the services will suffer in the delivery of passengers and ordinary people who have fought hard for the services. The cutting of routes in rural transport will certainly have an impact on many communities throughout the country, and everybody knows that many of these routes have served the public very well. From an economic point of view they have been good in that sense.

The new hackney licence has been mentioned and I know the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has spoken for quite a while about bringing in a lower cost hackney licence. There will be an impact on taxis in some of these areas and also some of the other hackney services. It will facilitate the introduction of a third licence. There are some areas with high numbers of taxis compared to others. This is not just in Dublin and it is also apparent in some rural areas, and they will feel that impact. Have we examined the matter in that respect? Have we indicated that when we introduce this measure, businesses and others should demonstrate their need for the service? We all know what their answer will be. There will be an overall impact, and it is crucial that this does not knock other people out of business. I agree with SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union, NBRU, as we will lose personnel in Dublin Bus, so how will that be managed? We are putting more people on the dole but bringing in others. Experience tells us there will be a reduction in the number of people coming in from private companies or elsewhere.

I have always believed the subsidy has served us well. It is one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in Europe. Although it has been argued it is not the lowest, I have always believed it is one of the lowest. Most countries operate on the basis of a subsidy. It does not make sense to bring in private companies and give them a subsidy while we eliminate the services of State-run companies. The witnesses have indicated that Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus will be able to tender but the exercise does not make sense. I do not know who is responsible, although I suspect the Minister is partly behind the process. I do not know if the National Transport Authority, NTA, has had an impact, or if it will stand behind some consultants and argue that they have made such recommendations. I would love to know who is behind it. My opinion is that this is driven by a Fine Gael Minister with the ultimate goal of privatisation.