John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Dublin Bus is not perfect but it is our Dublin Bus. It has emerged from the last decade as a modern, distinct and instantly recognisable part of the fabric of life in our capital. In my experience, Dubliners have a great affection for and loyalty to the company, which they own. It is a profitable and dynamic public company and in recent years its revenue has been steadily and dramatically increasing while its PSO subsidy has been decreasing. In recent times, I have become concerned about the concessions Dublin Bus has been forced to make in the wake of Luas cross city. For example, 30% of its routes through College Green have been redirected to facilitate Luas cross city. In facilitating these necessary changes, Dublin Bus illustrated its flexibility as a public transport provider. No account has been taken of how Dublin Bus commuters might have been discommoded as a result.

Last year a number of Dublin Bus routes were contracted out following a tender to the UK firm Go-Ahead. In tandem, the National Transport Authority is using this opportunity of a new service provider to roll out a new public bus brand called Transport for Ireland. The new brand will also cover all new additions to the Dublin Bus fleet from 2019 onwards guaranteeing the disappearance of the iconic Dublin Bus brand. No one asked the millions of Dublin commuters who rely on this service about this. The decision to erase Dublin Bus from the public transport map is simply not worthy of our National Transport Authority. The Dublin Bus brand is worth defending and fighting for. It is a brand that is well recognised. It is an identifying mark for customers and a proud symbol for its employees. Its livery and logo was developed in direct consultation with several disability transport users' groups, including bus service users with a range of visual and intellectual impairments. I also have concerns regarding the possibility this poses for future privatisation of the capital's public bus service. With one universal livery or brand, commuters will never know that more and more of their bus service is being contracted out to private providers. I am also concerned that new employees of the contracting companies will not enjoy the same pay and conditions as Dublin Bus employees. In response to me about workers' pay and conditions at Go-Ahead and whether they would be the same as those employed by Dublin Bus, the CEO of the NTA responded that while they understood it will be the case, the specific arrangements are a matter for Go-Ahead and its staff.

I am old-fashioned. I believe in public service and that with the right management, a public service company can build a dynamic service and corporate image and can motivate its staff to achieve the kind of results stereotypically associated with the private sector. Dublin Bus is one such company. In addition, the provision of permanent, reasonably paid jobs and conditions of employment opens up so many other opportunities to employees, such as home ownership and a secure future. This new brand, Transport for Ireland, could ultimately become a means of seamlessly and invisibly transitioning towards greater privatisation of services. There is the issue of accountability. Commuters ought to be able to recognise instantly who their service provider is. It is possible for the NTA to incorporate its new brand while not eliminating the Dublin Bus brand. The Dublin Bus brand is strongly Dublin-focused. The new NTA brand, Transport for Ireland, aside from being slavishly borrowed from Transport for London, in Dublin terms is anaemic and means nothing at all. The idea of a common livery or brand, also borrowed from London, equally makes no sense. The new brand proposed by the NTA speaks nothing to Dublin or Dubliners unlike the strong Dublin Bus brand which uses the castle icon and strong Dublin colours alongside a vibrant yellow that alerts commuters well in advance that their bus is arriving. Dublin Bus belongs in a real way to Dublin. It is very much part of the fabric of Dublin and not the NTA. It is an independent State company. It is time to defend this great company and the great service it provides. On this side of the House we will not stand by and watch it erased from the public eye and inevitably from public consciousness.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport. However, I am not involved in the operation of public transport companies, including their branding. The NTA has statutory responsibility to secure the development and implementation of a single public transport brand under section 5 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. Under the Act, the NTA may give a direction to a public transport operator on the promotion and use of a single public transport brand. This single public transport brand relates to services provided under contract with the NTA, that is, PSO, not commercial services. The statutory position is therefore clear. The NTA has the necessary statutory powers to design, develop and ensure implementation of a single public transport brand. I have been advised by the NTA that in accordance with this legislative provision, it has developed the unifying brand Transport for Ireland and has developed a common livery for the bus fleet on the public service obligation services that will now be operated by multiple operators and not just Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann.

As the Deputy will be aware, under bus market opening in August 2017 the NTA announced Go-Ahead, a UK bus and rail operator, as the winner of the tendering competition to operate 23 orbital routes. They are routes that do not go through the city centre in Dublin that are currently operated by Dublin Bus. In November 2017, the NTA announced Bus Éireann as the winner of the tendering competition to operate five city bus routes in Waterford city. With regard to the more recent Dublin commuter competition, the NTA announced Go-Ahead as the preferred tenderer in March to operate PSO bus services on six bus routes in the Dublin commuter area along the Kildare corridor. All these new services are expected to be phased in over a number of months commencing later this year and will benefit passengers through enhanced and improved quality services. Collectively these routes comprise approximately 10% of the total PSO bus route network currently operated by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann under contracts concluded with the NTA. The NTA has stated that it expects to introduce the new bus livery on the Go-Ahead services and on the revamped Waterford services to be provided by Bus Éireann. The NTA has further advised it will subsequently extend the new livery to other services on a phased basis.

I understand discussions have taken place between the NTA and Dublin Bus, together with the other CIÉ subsidiary companies, since early 2016 with regard to exploring the issues related to developing a single public transport brand. Public consultations took place in October last year relating to new service providers only and discussions are continuing between the NTA and Bus Átha Cliath, together with the other CIÉ subsidiary companies regarding the complete roll-out of the new bus livery. To be clear, the NTA has informed me there are no proposals to change the Dublin Bus corporate brand. It is evident that all parties are aware of the need to develop an integrated approach towards branding of public transport. However, differences clearly exist as regards how such an approach should be developed. As referenced earlier, the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 provides a clear statutory power to the NTA to design, develop and implement a single public transport brand and it is, therefore, the NTA's responsibility to take the lead in this area in line with its statutory remit.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Where to begin? They have pulled the wool over the Minister's eyes. I accept what the Minister is saying and accept the NTA has informed him it has no proposals to change the Dublin Bus corporate brand. However, it has not reassured the Minister it has no proposals to change the Dublin Bus livery or brand. I would like it in writing. I would like the Minister's assurance. I know it has statutory authority in this area. Under the Act the NTA may give a direction to a public transport operator but nobody is compelling it to do it. I absolutely accept that if it wants to have a corporate image and corporate brand across all public transport providers it is acceptable.

However, does the Minister think the Dublin Bus brand, its livery and logo with the dark blue, the light blue and the yellow, is worth defending? It has become quite an iconic part of the public transport system in Dublin. It was tested out with disability groups and a lot of money was put into it. It has been valued at €28 million by Dublin Bus providers but the NTA has not given the Minister any reassurance that it will not change the Dublin Bus livery. This is nothing personal but we will fight it on this side of the House. Dublin Bus is part and parcel of the fabric of Dublin.

This is part of the micromanaging mentality of the NTA. If I want to meet Dublin Bus officials or invite them to a public meeting in my constituency they have to clear it with the NTA beforehand. Does the Minister know that? If Dublin Bus wants to change or adapt a route, it has to go to the NTA for clearance. This is a national transport authority micromanaging to an enormous degree. We on this side of the House will not let this go and we will fight for the Dublin Bus brand and livery, which have served the population of city and county well by ferrying them to work, shops, hospitals, college and leisure activities every day of the week. It was the first transport provider in the city to respond and get back to work so that the city could get moving again after Storm Ophelia. It did so well in advance of the Luas, DART and rail services.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I do not have much more to say to the Deputy because I have made it quite clear that this is a matter for the NTA and not for me. He spoke about micromanaging Dublin Bus but I will not be micromanaging Dublin Bus. It would be absurd to suggest I do so.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is a leader.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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It is totally contradictory to suggest I intervene at a higher level. I am not going to do so. The Deputy is perfectly entitled to fight this particular battle and I am perfectly willing to allow the NTA to do the job I have entrusted it to do. That is why we appoint its people. I do not get involved in the day-to-day business for a very good reason - if I did so, Deputy Lahart would be the first person to come into the House and say the Minister is interfering in the operation of Dublin Bus.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Minister would. He would have our blessing.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Deputy would ask why we had the NTA at all. On the question of privatisation, we have made it absolutely clear that 10% is where we are and 10% is where we wish to stay. For the Deputy to come to the House and use scare tactics about us privatising a lot more is misleading, though I will not say it is dishonest. We have made it quite clear we are not on a privatisation path for Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann or any of the other transport companies.