Results 9,721-9,740 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: A business plan is being finalised. It is in draft form and cannot be finalised until the industrial relation issues have been resolved. That is for a good reason. A business plan for the company for 2016-17 and for the future cannot be produced until we know what the liabilities and the expenditure will be and what the revenue will be elsewhere.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I will be briefed on them tomorrow.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Of course, I will be briefed on the plans.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I will get a briefing tomorrow on the state of the plan. I hope the Deputy accepts, because it is self-evident, that the plan cannot be finalised until the IR issue is resolved. I presume he accepts that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I have answered that question. No plan can be finalised until the IR issue is finalised because that is a major factor in making a business plan. I will see the draft and I will be briefed on how far it has got, but I will not be able to sign off or approve a final plan until that is resolved. To expect me to do that is just nonsensical.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I refer to the Deputy's question about facilitators. I am determined that this strike will be resolved by two mature, responsible parties getting together. No bodies have greater expertise in this area than the WRC and the Labour Court.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The reason the WRC and the Labour Court were set up is they have that expertise and they have a record. It would be wrong for me at this stage to undermine them by appointing two people and suggest that those bodies have not done a good job of work or have not approached this in a sensible and constructive way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I have full faith in the WRC and the Labour Court.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I have absolutely no intention of speculating on insolvency. It would be utterly irresponsible for me to do that but the board is very aware of its responsibilities to the Deputy, to me, to the taxpayer and everybody else, and it is certainly being advised about that particular issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: It is not a time for me to enter into a discussion of that sort and I do not intend to do so. I am spending every hour of every day trying to sort out the problems in this particular dispute, to explain to people and to try to understand what is going on. I monitor this on a daily basis. That is my job as the shareholder and that is what I do, but I will not at this stage address the issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I am somewhat confused by the Deputy's questions but I will try to answer them as best I can. Policy issues are discussed at this committee and in the Dáil.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, but the Deputy said I am ducking them; I am not. I have discussed them in the Seanad. No Minister has appeared in the Seanad more often. I have taken questions in the Dáil on these issues. Deputy Troy tabled a motion on transport in the Dáil, which we debated. I am blue in the face from discussing the policy issues and I am happy to continue doing so with members. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: It is quite a lot of questions to be answered in three minutes, but I will try to get through them as quickly as possible. It is very important that people realise there is a misconception. They talk to me about wages, terms and conditions and ask why I am not doing certain things about it. They should realise I am not the employer. Bus Éireann is the employer. The employer is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Let me make it totally and utterly clear. Deputy Imelda Munster talked about a race to the bottom. I am as determined as she is that there will be no race to the bottom. She can throw around the rhetoric as much as she likes, but let me say specifically - she can hold me to account as often as she likes - that I do not wish to see a race to the bottom, nor am I promoting one. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: It is a PSO issue. It is according to the contracts as they are set out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I am quite happy to answer it. I am just trying to get a little detail. The issue is very simple. The details of the negotiations are for the company. I am not the employer and I do not decide wage levels. I will not be negotiating and the Deputy should not ask me to get involved in the nitty-gritty of wage negotiations in front of this or any other audience. That is not my role.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I do not know where the Deputy gets his information from about zero-hour contracts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I have been told by the company that it has no such proposals whatsoever to have zero-hour contracts. If the Workplace Relations Commission has a document of that sort and has discussed the issue of zero-hour contracts, that will be for it to deal with.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Let us see the document.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Éireann: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes. It is rubbish.