Mr. Dermot O'Leary:

In Deputy Fitzpatrick's constituency, more than 540 services operating on the 100 and 100X routes are under genuine threat. In terms of solutions, while I am speaking on behalf of the NBRU, we are all ad idem on how to resolve this issue. Our message for some months has been that it will not be resolved by the trade unions and the company. There are many strands to finding a solution. The Department of Social Protection, to which we referred today and on our previous appearance at the committee, has a role to play.

I note that the Minister stated recently in the Dáil that he was in discussions with the Minister for Social Protection and one would think that would fit into any solution.

A point we make strongly and will not deviate from is the fact that Bus Éireann is a State provider and carrier. It is a State-owned company that has a social obligation to both its employees and, equally important, to those in rural Ireland that it services. That point was lost in some of the debate I listened to in the House. The examples that my colleagues in SIPTU and I gave about the number of towns being served off-motorway and adjacent to the motorways are examples of a social service. People hide behind Europe an awful lot in this environment but we could not establish any State rule that debars the State from making an intervention in terms of supporting those towns, including the 16 towns between Dublin and Galway, the ten between Dublin and Waterford, the four between Dublin and Cork and the four between Dublin and Limerick. No State aid rules prohibit such intervention. That is another strand to the solution.

Are we on the workers' side afraid in terms of work practices and efficiencies? No. We have been pragmatic and proactive over many years when coming to the table and ponying up, as it were, through the recession, but a once in a generation pay cut will not happen again on our watch. That is what we have been saying. There are many strands to this but throughout our responses today my colleagues and I will make a fundamental point: As long as there are preconditions, which one minute are there but - verbally, at least - the next minute are not, there will be a barrier to the most immediate step to be taken which is to get into the discussions.