Mr. John Murphy:

I will not go over every point Mr. O'Leary addressed but I wish to comment on a few important issues raised by Deputies Troy and Murphy. We have said that we regard the consultation as key. SIPTU and the trade union movement generally have been calling for significant investment in public transport and all public services for years. We welcome anything that will invest money in public transport. It is a service. It is not a for-profit service but a service for the public, so there should be investment from the Government. I welcome the fact that the NTA has indicated it is willing to consider extending the consultation process. August is probably the least favourable month one could pick to carry out this consultation. Even in Dublin Bus there are reduced schedules agreed for the summer weeks, which shows there is a reduced number of passengers and reduced usage. If the NTA is going to consult people in the various shopping centres and elsewhere, it will only get certain answers if people are not there. It has to consult when there is peak usage and peak passenger numbers.

In fairness, Dublin Bus has advised us it will be part of the consultation and it will consult drivers and workers in the various locations. Most of the people who use these services do not identify with the NTA. They do not know what the NTA is. They are not going to be people going online, using social media and commenting on proposed changes or network redesign. They will bring their frustrations out on the drivers they meet each day, so if that is the position, at least the drivers can give feedback. Perhaps consideration could be given to some type of access on the current services for people to be part of the consultation through a mechanism for that on the bus, such as a survey that could be filled out. As Deputy Murphy said, the questions are important. One can ask questions to get the answers one wants so there must be ample opportunity to give an opinion and not just answer questions.

Deputy Murphy said there appeared to be a contrast between our submission and that of the NBRU. There is a contrast in certain respects. I will not say we do not want investment in public services because we do. I will not say that we do not want to remove congestion and improve the environment and climate through changes in the city centre because we do. I will not say that we do not want better fare systems and interconnectivity of transport because we do. However, it must be done right. That is the reason our main issue is the consultation, the protection of people depending on the services and the protection of the workers delivering them.