Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

I wish to address a budget-related matter. In the past week we have seen indications that some of the Government's quangos are showing signs of going walkabout. I applaud the Minister for Health's attempts to keep the VHI in check and to attempt to bring down the proposed premium increase of 50%. However, a more dangerous development is arising of which we are unaware as yet because of the budget. On 5 December, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, announced a cut of €21 million in the subsidy to CIE. This was obviously an attempt by the Government to raise money and to increase efficiencies in this quango. On 9 December, four days later, all three companies in CIE were given a price increase in fares. One of those increases which is to come into effect in January, is a 15% increase in the price of fares in Dublin. This was granted by another Government quango, the National Transport Authority, with uncharacteristic speed in four days.

How can a cut of this sort be allowed to be passed on immediately to the consumer? Yesterday, to our shame, this House introduced a property tax of €100 a year. If this fare increase is introduced in January, it will cost those people spending less than €20 a week on their bus fares or other transport fares, more than the property tax. I ask the Tánaiste to instruct the National Transport Authority to reverse this decision and to tell CIE, which is the most wasteful of all Government quangos, to keep its prices the same and to make its company more efficient and reduce the malpractices which have been rife for years.

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