Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our three guests. I apologise for having kept them waiting when we were in private session. All the witnesses come to their respective positions with different qualifications and experience, some more so than others in so far as transport is concerned, and each is chair of the body he represents in very turbulent times, both currently and in the past. I read an article written by a current Minister at a time when he was not a Minister. He said:

On December 5, Minister Brendan Howlin announced that he was cutting the state subsidy to CIE ...

Not a bad idea as CIE has in recent years been exposed as a swamp of waste and skulduggery.

Quangos like CIE and its three subsidiaries - Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann and Iarnrod Eireann - are in dire need of efficiencies. There is plenty of fat hidden in the darker corners of these bloated bodies.

That is the current Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport describing each of the witnesses' respective bodies. Has that "plenty of fat hidden in the darker corners of these ... bodies" been identified and eradicated, and are the witnesses sure that each of their bodies is operating to the greatest efficiencies possible? In that context, are there any vacancies on any of their respective boards? Do they feel there are particular competencies which may be missing from their respective boards?

Regarding Dublin Bus, correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that while Mr. Courtney has vast experience in different areas, his experience in the transport sector is quite limited. How long has he been a board member of Dublin Bus? He might come back to me with a response to that. Specifically, when did he take up the position of chairperson? Last year we identified the fact that despite a significant increase in revenues in Dublin Bus, there was a decrease in profit. Why is that?

Mr. Murphy has been chairperson of Bus Éireann for a number of years and was recently reappointed. Last year was a particularly turbulent one for Bus Éireann, and the people who suffered the most were the passengers who rely on Bus Éireann to go about their daily work or to college or whatever else.

A report was presented in 2015 which clearly outlined the serious issues facing Bus Éireann. Did the chief executive officer, CEO, at that time make that report available to Mr. Murphy and his board? Did they discuss that report and what actions did they take as a consequence of having been made aware of it? It was the total and utter inaction by the board and the executive of Bus Éireann for a protracted period - effectively, they buried their heads in the sand - that led to the industrial action and the three weeks of widespread chaos in Bus Éireann last year. I would welcome Mr. Murphy's opinion on that.

Regarding Irish Rail, Mr. Allen said the job of the board is to make sure that Irish Rail is adequately resourced. He also went on to say that because of the lack of resources afforded to Irish Rail, it now needs €103 million per annum for the next five years. How does he intend to fund that? He said that Irish Rail is in danger of losing competitiveness but I would say it has lost it. My colleague cited the example of the Sligo line, which serves my home town of Mullingar. It is quicker for me to drive to Leinster House in the morning than to take the train, despite the current major traffic disruption and congestion. If Mr. Allen is serious about Irish Rail being a competitive choice for passengers, we need to see large-scale investment in the rail network to ensure the tracks are fit for purpose, that reduced speed limits do not have to be introduced and that carriages are brought up to standard and fit for purpose. If the speed of the rail services is not increased, we will not be able to attract people to use those services. The reason I drive to Leinster House is that I have free parking. The reason most people take the train is not related to the speed of getting into Dublin but due to the high cost of parking in the city.

Mr. Allen touched on the strike. I am glad he did so at the end of his contribution as I was worried he might not do so. Is it true that the CEO intervened at a crucial stage in a negative way which derailed the talks, as a consequence of which we are again going to have industrial action and the people who will suffer will be travelling public who rely on these services day in, day out?

I got correspondence, as I am sure did my colleagues, from an anonymous source - I want to put that on the record and Mr. Allen can treat it being anonymous however he wants - to the effect that a company, which had to defer maintenance of its tracks because of limited resources, spent tens of thousands of euro sponsoring a fishing trip to the North of Ireland for senior members of the executive in Irish Rail. Is Mr. Allen aware of that? Does he believe that is an appropriate use of limited resources? He might comment on that.

Does each of the three bodies represented here continue to make payments to IBEC on an annual basis? If so, what does each company get in return for those payments? Also, how much are those payments annually?