Results 9,041-9,060 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: That is not the model. I want to answer the Deputy's question. That is not the model which we want to pursue. The Deputy also says that I have a privatisation agenda. I specifically added to the script, although the Deputy probably did not notice, and I said in my opening statement that privatisation is not part of the agenda. I have said that quite simply and give my word on that. I...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: -----makes me-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Let me finish.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I have nothing more to say, because the statements from Deputy Barry are utterly absurd.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Is the Deputy asking if there are sufficient cost savings to be made within the company to bridge the gap?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: No. I have not. I do not believe it is up to me to do that, as a shareholder. I believe it is up to me to monitor what is going on, but not to identify the issues, because that would be getting involved in the nitty-gritty of the wage negotiations. That is a matter which will have to be resolved. I think it is acknowledged by both sides. I heard the union say last night that there is...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I have responsibility as a shareholder to the taxpayer, the consumer and others. I accept responsibility, but it is not my job to tell them to make cuts.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: That is possibly true. When was that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: That was four years ago.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I am delighted that Deputy Catherine Murphy has joined the merry band of those who say I have given hostages to fortune in the past. Nobody would understand it better than the Deputy. I do not know how many parties she has been a member of in the past, but they include the Social Democrats, the Workers' Party, Democratic Left-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: It is. There was also the Labour Party-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: -----and the Independents.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: No, the Deputy cannot hide from that and I congratulate her on her versatility, as she congratulates me on mine. It is very good that people should change parties every year or couple of years-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: -----or when they feel like it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: I wish the Social Democrats well and I wish the Deputy well in her new venture. On the matter of whether there are savings, I am optimistic that this can work. I am optimistic that Expressway has a future. That is what we are all aiming for. It will be done by a combination of savings and perhaps increased revenue in various places. Yes, I am confident it can be done. The Deputy asks...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: We have a management in Bus Éireann. What does Deputy Murphy think it is there to do? It is there to manage and identify where commercial decisions should be made. I am not there to identify the detail of the cuts.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: The board and the management have made it quite clear, and I assume the trade unions feel the same, that there is a platform and basis for negotiations which will enable them to come to an agreement, hopefully in the next seven or eight days. That has been made quite clear by both parties and both of them are seeking the same objective. The Deputy is trying to draw me into the same...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: It says it will be insolvent if the situation continues. I am glad Deputy Murphy, like everybody else, realises the gravity of the situation. The company is also saying that, unfortunately, it will be painful. Saving this company will be very difficult. However, it is an absolute imperative that a commercial company behaves commercially. Wherever the savings have to be made will be...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)
Shane Ross: Yes.