Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I must deal with a postponed division on amendment No. 1, in the name of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, to the motion on BusConnects. On the question, "That the amendment be made," a division was claimed. In accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “a vibrant capital city” and substitute the following:further notes that:

— despite decades of underinvestment in public bus and rail services by successive Governments, and despite the workers of Bus Átha Cliath (Dublin Bus) achieving every arduous target set for them during the economic collapse, this partnership Government and the National Transport Authority (NTA) have continued with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s decision as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in 2013, to gradually privatise public transport services, including Bus Átha Cliath routes;

— this privatisation (sale of a public service to a private company in full or in parts) was first endorsed by Fianna Fáil ministers for transport prior to 2013, was pursued despite evidence in other jurisdictions that privatisation of bus services results in a drop in usage, consumer confidence and consumer satisfaction and ignores the public service obligation of public transport, as profit-making multi-nationals are not concerned with public service;

— a more sustainable plan would have been, and should be, to adequately fund all State-run public transport in order to ensure a first-class service in our cities and towns, run by existing semi-State companies; and

— this privatisation ideology clearly influenced the BusConnects proposals which the NTA published as a public consultative document and which blatantly ignored the varying needs of local communities; and

agrees that after the conclusion of the NTA’s public consultation process on BusConnects, revised plans should come before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport for further scrutiny, that meetings of the Committee shall take place where interest groups and community groups may be able to make submissions, both written and orally, and that the plan will not proceed should the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport decide, by vote, that it does not meet the needs of local communities.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Amendment No. 3 is in the name of the Solidarity-People Before Profit Deputies.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I move amendment No. 3:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:"notes that:

— public transport provides an essential service for all citizens and is central to combatting climate change and climate change policy;

— investment and funding for all three Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) companies was systematically reduced during the recession and the Public Service Obligation funding to Dublin Bus remains lower today than prior to the recession in 2008;

— Dublin Bus fleet numbers remain lower than the numbers prior to the recession, from over 1,160 in 2008 to just 1,016 in 2018;

— passenger numbers carried by Dublin Bus have now returned to pre-recession levels but they are now carried on a much reduced number of actual buses in the city;

— journey times have increased for passengers as a result of the introduction of the Luas Cross City line, as well as from increased traffic volumes;

— bus priority measures remain inadequate, with low levels of enforcement and a lack of continuous bus lanes on major routes into the city;

— in comparison to other European cities, funding of bus services in Dublin remains well below the European norm;

— numerous fare increases have left the city with an expensive bus service in part to compensate for the failure of this Government and past Governments to adequately invest in the network;

— the National Transport Authority (NTA) was set up by a previous Fianna Fáil administration with a specific remit to introduce competition to the bus market;

— the NTA has failed to address underfunding of public transport or increased journey times, or the lack of bus lane infrastructure, during its existence; and

— the NTA has instead been preoccupied with schemes to introduce competition to both the city and country bus services which has only facilitated the growth of private forprofit companies to the detriment of the existing State companies, and speeded up a race to the bottom in wages and conditions in the industry;

therefore condemns attempts by the NTA under the BusConnects plan to lay the blame for these failures solely on the existing network design;

further condemns threats to remove existing services used by the public and especially deplores attempts to remove 10 per cent of existing direct services into the city; and

agrees that–

— measures in BusConnects that seek the withdrawal of any existing service should be stopped;

— other measures contained in BusConnects, including the proposals for numerous orbital routes, bus priority measures, dedicated bus lanes, dedicated cycle lanes, and transferable tickets across public transport, should proceed immediately; and

— all proposed changes to existing services should be done in consultation with the communities and areas affected."