David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar. I am extremely worried by the proposal, as I see it, to privatise the entire bus service in Waterford city. All five city bus routes and the service to Tramore are to be awarded to private operators from 2016, as well as the Bus Éireann routes serving Kildare, Tullamore, Newbridge, Portlaoise and Athy. This is part of a larger plan by the National Transport Authority to allow private bus operators to tender for services currently operated by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus.

I must put on the record of the House my complete opposition to the privatisation of public transport, which I believe is not in the public interest. I am absolutely opposed to this nonsensical plan to privatise 100% of the public service in Waterford city and I ask the Minister to explain why that is the case. The NTA's proposals would hand over a significant percentage of the public bus service to private operators. This has been criticised by the Competition Authority. The privatisation of either part or all of the State's public transport network is not in the interests of the public, the staff of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus or the State.

We have heard criticism at Oireachtas committee hearings and in public by SIPTU and the NBRU, who spoke about the lack of public debate on the issue, problems with a very narrow consultation process and the impact that the Minister's proposals would have on jobs. As we know, the NBRU represents 2,500 employees and is on the record as saying that this is the folly of an "ideologically-based agenda", and it is hard to disagree with that. I must ask the Minister why Waterford is being singled out for what I would see as an experiment. Is Waterford to be a guinea pig, with all the bus routes in the city being handed over to private operators, compared to only 10% of bus routes in the State as a whole? Why is that the case? It is going to cause concern for those who use the bus services in Waterford and for the employees of Bus Éireann.

We are in danger here of confusing value for money with cheapness. All international research and evidence on the privatisation of public transport companies shows that even when they are privatised they still have to be subsidised by the State. We saw that with London Bus. A report on public transport in this State was published in 2009 which found that the level of Government subsidy to CIE and Bus Éireann was relatively low by European standards. It found that subventions to both companies had continued to fall on an annual basis.

I am taking the opportunity here to ask the Minister to rethink this foolish and ill-thought-out plan for privatisation. I also urge him to recognise that, unfortunately, there is a price to be paid and that it costs money to provide a vital public service. Private operators exist to provide a service and to make money, which is fine. However, sometimes bus services are required to meet a social need. We must provide a service to people and there may not be profit in that. While those services must be as efficient as we can possibly make them, it does not always work out that they will be profitable. I hope the Minister is not going down the road of privatising bus routes, with profit becoming the sole motivating factor and services coming a poor second. That is not what we need. Indeed, it would be a retrograde step for public service provision in this State.

My main question for the Minister is why contracts are to be awarded for 100% of bus services in Waterford city when the figure is only 10% across the State. Is it the case, as some fear, that Waterford city is being used as a guinea pig in the Minister's ideological experiment?