Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Has the Department produced a proper impact statement on the effects of this process on workers and their conditions? The Minister of State knows as well as I do that the private sector will undercut. Will the Government give it public service obligation, PSO, services? I am sure that in recent years the PSO subvention has been reduced dramatically. It is one of the lowest in Europe and the service is moving towards profitability. I do not understand why we would facilitate in going down this route. The Government is using the NTA or the European Commission as an excuse, but there is certainly a means to do this, as I believe the Minister of State knows. This is a policy decision, a drive towards privatisation. That is the problem.

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