Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Has the Minister brought his cheque book? I ask that because the feeling on the ground is that he will have to get off the fence, which he has been on for too long in recent weeks, and give the green light for real talks - not sham talks - with the Dublin Bus workers and their trade union representatives. For real talks to take place, the Minister will need to open the cheque book because the issue of pay justice is firmly on the agenda. In that context, I want to make some brief points on the issue of State subvention for public transport.

The Minister will be aware that in the context of Dublin Bus alone, the subvention has been slashed in recent years. The figure for 2008 was €86 million. The figure for 2015 was €58 million. That is an incredible reduction. I will pause because the Minister is having a word with his officials. I will await his full attention. In terms of what that has meant, it has resulted in high fares for the people of this city and throughout the country who use bus services, but also low pay for the workforce. Low pay is subsidising that company. These workers have not had a pay increase for eight years. They have gone eight years without a single pay increase, as the Minister is well aware.

Deputy Munster referred to the fact that there is a very low level of subvention from the State for public transport. Again, in the case of Dublin Bus it is 27%. A survey was carried out in nine cities in Europe, some of which have been mentioned - London, Barcelona and others - in 2009 and 2010. Dublin came bottom of the list. We did not win any Olympic gold, silver or bronze medals in that particular context. An important point is that those figures come from 2009, and the subvention has been cut further in the meantime. I suspect it is less than 27% now, and possibly as low as 20%. In order to bring Dublin up to the average, we would need a spend of €200 million. To bring the capital up to joint eighth position, level with the next city on ladder - London, which was second from bottom - we would need an investment of €90 million. We cannot talk here about marginal, incremental increases to the public service obligation and to the State subsidy for Dublin Bus and other public transport in this State. This issue needs to be addressed.

To return to my first point, the Minister needs to open his cheque book in regard to this issue and, if necessary, have a fight at Cabinet level with the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance, Deputies Paschal Donohoe and Michael Noonan, because the State and the Government will be forced to do this. Dublin Bus workers are determined. They have a high level of public support and it is time for the Minister to get off the fence. There is a need for real negotiations - not Mickey Mouse negotiations. That involves pay justice for the workers, and it will be necessary to open the cheque book and significantly increase the level of public subvention.