Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It gives me great pleasure to welcome the Minister here today and wish him continued and responsible success with his ministerial portfolio. I vividly remember when the Luas project was started where I live in Dundrum, and the then Minister, the late Séamus Brennan, in 2004 launched the Green Line and then the Red Line. It has been a tremendous success. My husband was the chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency; he was brought in at a time when there had been much controversy and steered it without any deviation. He put a significant amount of time into restoring its credibility, as there had been controversies arising from the use of incorrect figures and so on.

In 2014, the then Minister, Deputy Varadkar, lauded the Luas project on its tenth anniversary. He stated:

Luas is ten years old and has been a phenomenal success. Thirty million passengers use Luas every year and it operates without a Government subsidy. The Luas cross-city extension should add another 10 million passengers per year and in future we can hopefully add other lines as well.

We had trams restored to Dublin after an absence of 46 years, and it has been a phenomenal success. It is a source of great pride for everybody involved with the project because of its great success. Some people were concerned, none the less, about money being spent on such a project. It has also been a success for people in the vicinity, and the trams are packed from very early every morning. It is interesting that the passenger numbers dropped during the recession, but when they increased again it was a sign that the economy was improving. Everybody feels good when travelling on the tram because it saves all those cars from driving into the city. It is a peaceful and relaxing journey.

Ms Anne Graham, director of public transport services at the National Transport Authority, has stated: "Luas is an iconic symbol of our capital city of which we are all very proud; this pride will be further enhanced when the new Luas Cross City commences operations in 2017." The Minister said a new name, "the transport infrastructure of Ireland", had been given to the new amalgamated organisation but that the old name would stay for statutory purposes. We are not the best at efficiencies and all our inefficiencies in different parts of the economy are spelt out in the papers every day. In this context, it is very important that the cultures of the two different organisations are amalgamated because it is not easy. There was a big rush a few years ago to separate IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Forfás and now they are coming back together, which means time and money is wasted.

If the merger is not managed properly it will be bad. There are high standards in the Railway Procurement Agency but, as the Minister said, there will be IR and HR issues. When two State bodies are integrated into one new entity there are a number of challenges, particularly from the perspective of human resources management. The transfer of a commercial State body into the non-commercial sector is particularly challenging. Issues concerning terms and conditions of staff require sensitivity and careful consideration. I have a great regard for the National Roads Authority and we can see around the country what it has delivered.

I am sure most people in Ireland agree there is so much inefficiency all over the place. Everybody is now concerned about the lack of competence in different organisations, from the treatment of patients in the west of Ireland to the lack of home care and proper child care services, including for children with disabilities. There are women who are afraid of going into maternity hospitals to have a baby. We really must get our act together. As a business person I know what I am talking about.

Joining the two organisations together is not just a bureaucratic exercise. There are human beings involved and I know from personal experience about the passion in the Railway Procurement Agency because my husband worked on it 24/7 for €1 per week when Mary O'Rourke asked him to help on the legislation. He saw that it would take much of his time but he gave of it because it was a patriotic labour for him to put all his effort into getting it onto the right track by using his experience as managing director of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.

I live beside the Luas and I use it regularly. It makes one feel good, like Dundrum town centre which I also live beside and where everybody feels good because it is so clean, tidy and efficient. We are always delighted with something we do well and if the country is doing well. The Minister has to keep an eye on this matter himself. It is not just a matter of one Government Department doing something to create efficiency. That is easy to do. This involves human beings continuing to give all they have in the shape of their brains and their passion. I believe the public sector is perfectly capable of having passion when it is managed correctly.