David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister made an extraordinary remark to the effect that rural Ireland is a top priority for this Government. It bowled me over and I am sure it will bowl over many people in rural Ireland. It seems the Minister has gone full circle back to his roots as a cheerleader for Fine Gael and its failed policies. With all seriousness, the Minister cannot come into this House and say that this Government and the previous Government have treated rural Ireland as a top priority. We have seen the closure of rural Garda stations, including one in the Minister's constituency. We have seen health services stripped from rural areas, post offices and rural schools closed, small and medium-sized businesses not given the support they need and many towns and villages dying because of the lack of a joined-up policy and adequate resources. The fact is that rural Ireland is far from a top priority for the Government.

Bus Éireann is an essential part of our public transport network. It provides a good quality service to a huge number of towns and villages that would otherwise be isolated. The private model that the Minister and the Government really want will not work in the interests of rural communities. I am not against private operators but, first and foremost, I am for public services and a public transport system. The outcome of the Minister's policy will be a less efficient and less reliable service. It will mean reduced wages and conditions for employees, an increase in fares and no pension arrangements for workers. I do not think Fine Gael cares about these issues and, quite frankly, I do not think the Minister cares about them either. It is all about competition. It does not matter whether it is cheap labour and people get less once the private operators make a profit.

A total of 100% of bus routes in Waterford city were privatised. The Minister of State with responsibility for training and skills, Deputy John Halligan, stood on a picket line with workers and said that he would not be part of such a privatisation agenda. He has gone very mute on this issue in recent times. He jumped up and down and was very vocal when he was in opposition, as was the Minister. Now that the Minister is in government, he is the driver of policy but a passenger in respect of this issue. He is allowing himself to be a passenger because he does not want to take any responsibility. I plead with him to do his job. In many people's eyes, he is not doing his job. It is a cop-out to say that he cannot intervene. He can intervene and do his job but, just like those in Fine Gael, he is refusing to do so for ideological reasons.

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