Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for giving us time to raise this matter. I thank the Minister, Deputy Ross, for coming to the House to debate the extraordinary and completely disgraceful situation in Bus Éireann. Proposals regarding the terms and conditions of employees are being leaked to the media before they are released to the employees in question. The serious financial challenges in Bus Éireann have been the subject of a series of reports. Everybody accepts that those challenges exist and everybody wants to see them resolved in the best possible way.

On 30 November last, Grant Thornton consultants finalised a report on the options facing Bus Éireann. I have a copy of the report with me. The report has been extensively leaked in the national media in recent days. On 11 January last, the acting chief executive officer of Bus Éireann said publicly that the company is facing insolvency within 18 months. The Taoiseach told the House on 17 January last - 48 hours ago - that the Minister, Deputy Ross, has not received the report, even though it was completed in November, and therefore could not have read it, even though he apparently briefed the Cabinet on Bus Éireann on Tuesday morning. In an effort to help the Minister, my colleague, Deputy Troy, placed a copy of the report in the Minister's pigeonhole on Tuesday evening. Has the Minister read it? What are his views on the proposals and findings contained in it?

Bus Éireann is an extremely important company for Ireland. The Expressway service is an extremely important part of the company. It provides good employment. A State company should not be joining the race to the bottom in terms of employment contracts and terms so that it can compete with private operators that have fewer conditions on their methods of operation than Bus Éireann does. We need an honest and open discussion about the future of Bus Éireann and the options facing it. The employees of Bus Éireann need to be given the respect they deserve. Proposals to change their terms and conditions should not be bandied around the media for the sake of headlines. We are talking about thousands of people who deserve better than that.

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