Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

In 2000, the then Department of Public Enterprise produced a report on subvention. Dublin was ranked third lowest by comparison with other cities in terms of what it received. Its percentage was 4% while that for Bergen in Norway was 1.5% and that for Belfast was 2%. In Belfast 98% of revenue came from fares and in Dublin 96% of revenue came from fares. Dublin is the biggest city in Ireland and is supposed to be competing with the modern cities in Europe, yet its subvention is one of the lowest in Europe. Other cities have modern railways, bus services and other transport services, yet Dublin Bus has experienced cuts in the order of €60 million to €70 million over recent years. There is talk of certain projects not going ahead, yet the subvention is being cut.

Buses will be key to transport in Dublin in the coming years. Some 120 buses are gone. This is not good enough and we must think outside the box. I cannot accept that we must accept the Troika's decisions in this regard such that we cannot invest in our bus and transport services. Investment is crucial because services are at full capacity at peak times and we cannot make further cuts. The next cuts will affect wages and staff. Does the Minister of State believe this will be the case?

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