Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague, I believe it is important that the Minister involves himself in this debate. It is regrettable that the National Transport Authority is pushing ahead with the privatisation agenda without the agreement of the unions concerned. The NBRU has set out a clear position. It has identified that section 52 of the 2008 Act gives exclusive rights to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to operate existing routes and, therefore, any privatisation can only be on new routes.

It is highly regrettable that a representative body finds itself with no alternative but to resort to the protection of the courts to vindicate its rights. It is particularly disturbing a time when the Labour Party forms part of the Government. The Minister will recall that in the formation of the current Administration the Labour Party sought and achieved a Minister of State portfolio with responsibility for public transport. Sadly, the Labour Party realised that it was losing the battle and allowed that post to be shelved when the then Minister of State, Deputy Alan Kelly, was promoted to a full Cabinet position. That was all done rather quietly but not without the recognition, in particular by the people who work in the public transport sector, that the Government had in effect turned its back on public transport workers. This is especially disturbing with the Labour Party still at the Cabinet table.

I believe the Minister is a fair-minded individual and someone who has a balanced approach to all aspects of public transport. He has not seemed to push the right-wing privatisation agenda of some in his party. I appeal to the Minister to talk to the NTA, ask it to postpone its agenda of putting routes out to tender and try to get consensus among the worker representatives. It would be appalling if a representative body had to seek redress in the courts while the Labour Party forms part of the Government.

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