Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Laoghaire.

We are now in day six of the strike. I hope the Minister will acknowledge that the public and the workers are now suffering the consequences of his inaction. I would like to get back to a factual conversation about how we arrived at the financial crisis we are facing. I would like the Minister to acknowledge that one of the causes of this crisis was the lack of subvention. Ireland has one of the lowest subvention rates in Europe.

The free travel pass subsidy only covers 41% of the average fare and journey cost and there is over-saturation of routes. Until the Minister acknowledges that these are the main factors contributing to the financial crisis, we are going nowhere. I would like him to acknowledge this. They are the bare-faced facts. I worry that if the Minister continues with his current policy, it will result in the decimation of the public transport network. I refer to his plans to outsource and privatise routes and, in general, the public transport network and the race to the bottom in workers' rights, pay and conditions which is under way.

I refer to the deliberate portrayal of the dispute as an industrial relations issue. The Minister knows full well that it is not. Workers are not on strike because they are seeking a pay rise. I want the Minister to acknowledge this. They are on strike because their wages are threatened to be cut by upwards of 30%. Would the Minister accept a cut in his wages of 30%, bearing in mind that he earns three to four times more than the average bus driver? Would Bus Éireann management, on a salary of €100,000, accept a pay cut of upwards of 30% in their wages? The Minister knows full well that workers did not create this crisis. In his opening statement he said:

I assure the committee that I am prepared to meet interested parties which include the trade unions about public transport policy issues that are of concern. Such discussions, whichever form they take, cannot take place during an industrial relations dispute or when a strike is being threatened.

However, he knows full well that for the past six months, he has been asked repeatedly to engage with all stakeholders, including his Department, the NTA, Bus Éireann management and the unions, sit around the table and find a solution to the crisis, but he has repeatedly refused to do so. All he has done is regurgitate his now infamous party piece "I am not getting involved". That is not good enough. He cannot absolve himself of his responsibility.

Does the Minister accept that public transport is a service just like education and health? Does he accept that the public transport network is grossly underfunded and that his increase was minuscule in comparison to what is required? Does he accept that he failed to deliver the free travel pass subsidy increase into which he said his officials would look ? Not only have we seen a minuscule increase in funding but the Minister has also failed to deliver an increase in the free travel pass subsidy. He also refused point blank to carry out a review of all the routes which are now loss making because of over-saturation. Why would he refuse point black to do this if he was genuinely concerned about getting to the root of what caused the crisis? That lends itself to the opinion that he is only interested in outsourcing and privatisation. Is he aware that rail and tram services receive more in State funding per passenger than bus services. Will he comment on this?

In his opening statement the Minister said he was playing his part in supporting Bus Éireann. Was that a joke? He has done the absolute opposite. He adopted a hands-off approach from day one despite repeated calls to intervene. I will not ask him this question personally because we know that he is not interested, that he does not want to get involved and that he is not willing to find a solution. I have just come from the protest outside and know that the workers are determined not to be part of a race to the bottom. This could end up being the mother of all strikes. If workers in Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus join in, the Minister will be directly responsible for the chaos and destruction caused. It will not be the fault of the workers. As such, while the Minister can stay wherever it is he has been recently and stand aloof, will he allow the Department, rather than himself, the NTA, Bus Éireann management and the unions to get involved in negotiations? We are going nowhere if he does not. He is going to be responsible for the grinding to a halt of our public transport network and the disruption it will cause for the general public the length and breadth of the State. In the jaws of the strike, will he give permission for the Department, the NTA, Bus Éireann management and the unions to sit around the table and do the job he is not interested in doing?