Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----while at the same time arguing there should be investment in the railways for all those good reasons. That is just not an honest position.

The company has more money and, as I mentioned, the subvention has gone up and passenger numbers are increasing. The targets I set as Minister with responsibility for transport to increase the use of public transport are being met. Fares have gone up as well, so more revenue is going to the company. This must be split three ways, with the first paying the debt, making the company more solvent and securing its future in the long term. It must also improve services for passengers and pay for the staff. We must split the resources three ways and make priorities. The consensus of this House is that while there should be some form of pay increase, the priority should be investment in infrastructure, safety, line speeds and carriages while improving services for passengers and dealing with climate change.

Of course the Government can intervene, but it does not do so in such disputes through ministerial intervention, as that has not been the case for a very long time.

The way that is done is through the bodies that are established by this House and funded by the State to manage industrial relations disputes. These are the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, in the first instance and the Labour Court thereafter. I know that the Labour Court and the WRC are willing to intervene in this dispute if they believe there is sufficient willingness from both management and unions to come to an agreement. I hope that willingness exists, and if it does I am sure there will be a Labour Court intervention.

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