Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well in selling it to his colleagues in the unions. That is his job. He has taken a decision to begin the process of privatisation. As a member of the Labour Party, he is responsible for that act. I do not care how he minces his words about opening up for tendering and in referring to the role of the National Transport Authority. It is a Government decision. The NTA is an independent agency, but when it comes to a significant policy shift such as this, the decision must be taken at Cabinet level. Fine Gael’s ideology has always involved the privatisation of the public transport system. It is a decision with which I fundamentally disagree. I agree with Deputy Mick Wallace that the privatisation of London Bus and the rail system ultimately cost the state a hell of a lot more money in an effort to get people to go back and utilise the services. What happened was that as the companies drove to gain more profits for themselves, services deteriorated and the good work done during the years in achieving the modal shift of moving people out of their cars and onto public transport was reversed. That is my concern about what will happen in this country.

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