Mr. Willie Quigley:

This process can be extended to user driven innovation, under which the general public served by public transport is included through innovative communication tools. This is a radical break from hierarchical decision making structures and one in which trust is essential. If Bus Éireann management is serious about a stakeholder approach and building trust, it should immediately withdraw its letters and demands for downsizing. If this were done, management and employees could sit down and agree a new strategic stakeholder approach. This is not to suggest a solution will be easy. I have no doubt, management will bring to the table proposals which employees will find difficult and we, too, will bring forward issues. For instance, overtime has been abolished in place of outsourcing in maintenance work, yet outsourcing costs more than overtime would cost.

Has Bus Éireann attempted to enter the lucrative non-stop market between major urban areas and, if not, why not? Is this a failing of managerial strategy or the regulatory structure? This process is not only about overcoming divisions between management and employees but also about identifying areas of co-operation. There is much on which we could agree, for example, the low level of PSO support in the public service; underpayments in reimbursing free travel costs; the use of Expressway as a subsidiser of the Exchequer and non-commercial public services; and the race to the bottom process that undermines good employers and good employment. If the company were to speak with one voice on these issues, it could direct the debate to significant issues in public transport services.

Ultimately, the issue extends beyond management and employees. We have identified a number of defects in policy ranging across regulatory, investment and labour market issues. For this reason, we need all those involved in public transport, specifically the National Transport Authority, Department and Minister, to sit down together to resolve these issues. If these parties are not involved, the problems in public transport will persist.

The joint committee has a key role to play in this area by supporting a new stakeholder approach, helping to identify the problems that management and employees face together and urging all parties, including the Minister, to become involved in a new dispensation for public transport. The committee should consider itself a key stakeholder.