Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Howlin. Few people in the House know as much about this as does the Deputy. He has had experience of the industrial relations machinery of the State being made available to many companies in the past. This is not the first occasion we have had some difficulties with Bus Éireann. The difficulties of the past have been ironed out on each occasion by using that machinery and by using the negotiation capacity that exists between management and trade unions.

It is true to say that 23 million public passengers used Bus Éireann in 2015. It is also true to say, as the Deputy pointed out, that many thousands of school children are brought either by Bus Éireann or by another provider, under contract, to their schools and home safely in the evening. As I said to Deputy Martin earlier, €35 million of a subvention, which represents an increase of 17%, was made available by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform this year. This is an issue of public policy in terms of attracting more people to use public services such as the public transport service. The central issue in respect of the Expressway service is one that needs to be dealt with because the commercial reality is that it is a loss-making area. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has pointed out that if there is a reconfiguration of the Expressway service that it stands ready to provide connectivity to rural areas that would lose that service were that to happen.

The Deputy made a few other points. As I said earlier, the chief executive, who is serving in an acting capacity, is before an Oireachtas inquiry now. Bus Éireann is preparing plans which it will present for discussion in the next number of weeks. The answer to this, as the Deputy is well aware, is to engage with the facilities of the State where these particular problems and confrontations can be discussed, negotiated and concluded.

My understanding is that the engagement with the Labour Court yesterday was about the requirements that have to be put in place in order that discussions can take place on it. It will not be sorted out in here by megaphone politics. This will have to be sorted out, as every other dispute is sorted out, around the table between the management and the unions or using the facilities of the State. I hope that machinery will be able to engage itself with the management and the unions in the interests of the company, the drivers, those who work in it and also the travelling public. Nobody wants to see this go wrong.

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