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

I made a number of points relating to this Bill previously. Today I wish to make the Minister aware of further issues of concern.

The Bill refers to the Rail Safety Act 2005, which makes reference to fostering greater competition. What kind of competitive vision does the Government foresee in the future of the railways? I struggle to imagine, in practical terms, how various private railway companies, operating on the same rail lines, will improve efficiency. The idea evades the innate practical advantage that is natural monopoly.

Regarding bus rapid transit, BRT, Dublin Bus has entered into a public service contract with the NTA to operate the BRT up to December 2019. We welcome this as it could present an opportunity to develop bus services across Dublin county. However, I raise concerns in relation to privatisation. Sinn Féin strongly opposes any move to put the BRT in private hands, like the Luas, which is a good example of how even in the best circumstances private operators do not necessarily operate any more efficiently than public operators.

Changes to the College Green area do present a possibility for problems but could just as easily be an opportunity to integrate taxi services better into our transport network. Any attempts to ban taxi access to College Green will have a huge negative effect. The traffic implications would force taxis to detour, increasing congestion. A taxi ban would also have a detrimental effect on those with disabilities who rely on taxis regularly.

Regarding issues affecting taxi drivers, I mentioned previously that I welcome new regulations for the passing on of a taxi licence to a bereaved family member. This is a sensible and practical amendment. Sinn Féin had called for greater access to this provision from its inception and this is a positive move which will help many families across the country. I also welcome the new period for paying fixed charges, which will alleviate pressure on taxi drivers.

Regulating and vetting taxi drivers is essential in the development of a strong, safe service for the public. However, while regulation is an obvious necessity, we must ensure that it does not operate unfairly and impact unjustly on hardworking people trying to make a living. Therefore, I must raise the utterly discriminatory attacks on the livelihood of taxi drivers convicted of offences relating to the conflict in the northern part of our country, which raged from the 1960s to 2005. I remind the Government that under the Good Friday Agreement, republican and loyalist former-prisoners are not to be discriminated against and barred from employment, yet this Bill seeks to do just that. Drivers who have worked for decades, contributed to the State and provided quality service without a problem have recently received letters telling them they will not be allowed to renew their licences.

We will be working with such drivers to challenge this disproportionate attack on their right to make a living.

I must express my concern at parts of the wording in this Bill in relation to competition, which strike me as largely ideological. Since the Government assumed office in 2011, the State's subsidy for public transport, which was already far too low compared to that of other European states, has been cut by over 20%. To compound problems further, the Government has sought to erode pay and working conditions for thousands of bus drivers and rail operators, leaving disaffected transport employees no option other than industrial action. Should the Government continue on its relentless race to the bottom, no doubt there will be many more strikes in the future.

The kind of narrative we have around transport focuses on competition as opposed to reliability, affordability and efficiency for those who need the service. Competition ought not to be the absolute priority as a means of achieving high-quality transport services, which it does not. Instead, the focus ought to be on reliability of provision and price stability. The only competition that should be at play is public transport competing with private cars as the best way to commute and to socialise. Competition among bus services, rail services and other transport services will not improve the provision of those services and presents no long-term savings for anyone. It will simply ensure handsome profits for private interests while reducing connectivity for less profitable routes and undermining workers' conditions, all while demanding a subsidy from the State. This is the case in every situation in which public transport has been privatised. It is not cheaper and it is not more efficient, but it is profitable for those who own the companies that take the place of groups such as Dublin Bus, which put public service before profit.

The United Kingdom embarked on measures to systematically privatise its transport network over the past number of decades, and we can see today the result of this policy as prices soar, with a large proportion of the public calling for re-nationalisation of the United Kingdom rail network. Should Irish Rail be fully privatised, be it under an EU directive or purely through the politics of a neoliberal Government, I believe that a future Ireland would find itself in a similar position to the United Kingdom. The ideologically driven notion of competition in the provision of transport is simply detached from the living realities of those who use the service on a daily basis. The re-election of Fine Gael and the Labour Party, I believe, will see a further push to move our services into the private sector, with little regard for the impact on users.

There are a number of technical amendments throughout this Bill and I look forward to debating them.

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