Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy went on to say I had not engaged on the matter. A few moments ago, I described the engagement I had with the unions directly and the length of the process that went on, through the LRC, that involved the unions and the employers, to seek to respond on the matters that are being dealt with. I pointed out that the approach being taken here in Ireland is entirely different from that being taken in other countries. The Deputy accused us of having some agenda on the privatisation of both companies despite the fact that, last year, I invested over €100 million in both companies to represent the very kind of need the Deputy is doing her best to represent here today. I was responding to matters raised by the companies and unions in the past. This is the track record of investment by the Government in them and I have given a commitment that, as I expect the demand for public transport to grow in the future, the Government will seek to match the demand through investment.

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