Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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41. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for the future of public transport across the State, including in cities, towns and rural areas; his plans to remedy the current problems within the sector; if he will review the current funding arrangements for the sector (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22358/17]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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What is the vision of the Minister, Deputy Ross, for the future of public transport in cities, towns and rural areas across the State? How does he envisage remedying the current problems in the sector? Does he hope to review the current funding arrangements for the sector; and will he make a statement on the matter?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​I thank the Deputy for her question. I welcome the opportunity to address a wide subject such as this at this time.

I want to see an accessible, integrated, well-funded, high-quality and efficient public transport system. I want to see a public transport system that provides a viable and popular alternative to travel by car. That is an objective upon which nearly all parties in the House agree. We have been through a difficult period in recent years and investment levels in both infrastructure and services were reduced. My Department's strategic investment framework for land transport, published in 2015, states that the top priority is to achieve steady-state levels of investment. However, the period of reductions in funding is behind us.

Whether the Deputy wishes to acknowledge that or not, progress has been made in the past two years or so. More money continues to be made available to support transport services and infrastructure. That increased investment is bearing fruit, as can be seen from the increased passenger numbers across nearly all elements of our public transport system, including PSO bus, PSO rail, light rail and commercial bus services. I want to make more progress. For that reason, I will be seeking further increases in both the review of the capital plan and budget 2018 in order to build upon the progress made and provide for even more services and better infrastructure across the public transport system.

At a policy level, A Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to reviewing public transport policy to ensure services are sustainable into the future and are meeting the needs of a modern economy and my Department is preparing to move forward with this commitment.

The Deputy will also be aware that I recently announced my intention to establish a stakeholder dialogue on the issue of public transport. It is vital that stakeholders have the opportunity to voice their opinions on public transport policy issues. I look forward to that dialogue and the contribution it can make towards future public transport policy.

I am committed to placing the citizen at the heart of our public transport policy to allow us realise the true potential of public transport and allow it to play its full role in promoting both social progress and economic prosperity.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is more than one year since the Minister took office and it must be said that transport is in a sorry state because of the lack of investment in infrastructure and very poor investment in land transport overall. The area of public transport is in deep crisis. I asked this question because the Minister has refused to engage with the discourse around the future of public transport amidst the recent crisis in Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann. Industrial action at Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and the Luas should have been a wake-up call that the sector is in real trouble; that and the fact of workers willing to put their necks on the line for the sake of CIE and public transport. It is fair to say that the current state of Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann is alarming, but that is an understatement in itself. Both companies have indicated that they are close to insolvency.

I would like some clarity from the Minister about his intentions in this regard. The Minister has said he does not intend to privatise Bus Éireann. Does this intention stretch as far as CIE companies? How does that statement stand up to scrutiny when 10% of bus routes have already been put out to tender? These are bus routes on Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann and we have no idea what the NTA intends to do in the next year or the year after. Is it correct that the NTA can privatise as many routes as it wants? I know the Minister will say that it is putting routes out to tender and that it is not privatisation, but it is privatisation. Will the Minister give a commitment that no further routes will be put out to tender to protect our services? Will he also give clarity on the issue around the legislation that can be misinterpreted by the NTA with regard to having an obligation to outsource all the routes?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Munster. We are being a bit more specific here than was intended in the original question. On the Bus Éireann issue, I repeat that I stand by everything I have said in the past, especially about privatisation. I cannot understand why people ask the same question time after time after time. They are going to get the same answer. The answer is the same as the one I have given to the Deputy and to others in the House many times and this remains the case.

On the issue of public transport generally, it is not true just to come in with a broad sweep and be a foreteller of doom. The situation has improved. It had been on a terrible downward spiral for a very long time, but the Deputy will know that in recent years public service obligation, PSO, funding has increased in each of the last two budgets. Budget 2016 provided for a 13% increase and budget 2017 provided for a further 11% increase. In 2017, almost €263 million has been made available to the NTA to support the PSO in bus and rail services. Things were pretty bad but they are improving. I am looking forward to increasing the PSO this year also.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister has said, and he has stated repeatedly, that he is not in favour of privatisation and that he has no intention of privatising. He has not, however, answered my question on whether he would give a commitment that no further routes would be put out to tender to protect the existing services. Will the Minister give that commitment? As I said earlier, we do not know what the NTA will do next year or the year after. It could put all the routes out to tender or outsource them or whatever words the Minister wants to use other than privatisation, although it is still privatisation at the end of the day. Will the Minister give a commitment in that regard? I am sure if he is in disagreement with the routes being put out to tender, the NTA would have to adhere to his wishes. Will the Minister give the commitment that no further routes will be put out to tender to protect our public services? Is the Minister truly in favour of protecting, preserving and enhancing our public services, as opposed to outsourcing, tendering or privatising?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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It has been absolutely clear what the situation is. It is up to the NTA what it does as provided for in the Act and within the legal constraints under which the authority operates. I have made it absolutely clear that there will be no move towards privatising routes in the headlong way described by the Deputy. There is no obligation on the NTA or anyone else to privatise all the routes in 2018-2019. I will introduce legislation to ensure this, as the Deputy is well aware. I have made that commitment, it is being done and has been committed to many times in the past.