Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister accept that Ireland has one of the lowest public transport subsidies in Europe? Does he agree that the international experience of market liberalisation is quite mixed? He mentioned that the Competition Authority has highlighted the international experience. On the basis of research I have done, that experience appears to be quite mixed. The initial results in countries where liberalisation has happened to a large, medium or small degree show that states can obtain some savings in certain circumstances. That needs to be borne in mind. In some countries, privatisation has led to monopolisation, or a variation thereof, over a number of years. This has led to an increase in the costs incurred by the state. It might be appropriate for the Minister to refer to a report produced by the transport committee in 2003 or 2004, after members of the committee met representatives of London Bus, in the context of the decisions due to be taken. Is it the case that the overheads of private operators are significantly lower than those of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus? Does the Minister agree that a wider discussion of the liberalisation and privatisation agenda is required? As I see it, liberalisation is certainly not a panacea that would solve all our problems. In fact, it might create greater problems.

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