I call Deputy Micheál Martin, who has three minutes. I would appreciate it if leaders and the Taoiseach observed their three minutes.

On behalf of my party, I also welcome our colleagues from the House of Lords and the House of Commons to Leinster House.

Those in my party are saddened at the loss of the former Deputy, Peter Mathews. I take it that we may have an opportunity to comment later in light of Peter's recent membership of the House. He was a person with whom I and many Deputies got on well. He brought a freshness and a vigour of intellectual thought to the House that were valued. I was saddened to hear of his loss this morning. I wish to extend our fullest sympathies to his family. I hope that we will get an opportunity later to pay a longer tribute to him.

There are many issues of the day.

As predicted, we are rushing headlong into a major industrial dispute with the State bus company, Bus Éireann. The more than 110,000 regular passengers face chaos next Monday. The staff of 2,600 face very worrying times. They are concerned not only about their terms and conditions but the future of the company itself. It seems to them that in one fell swoop an attempt is being made to dramatically and fundamentally alter the nature of the company and the terms and conditions of its workers who perform a very valuable community and social service, in addition to its commercial activities. I put it to the Taoiseach some time ago as to whether the Government is committed to the maintenance of a State transport company, in particular one that provides a very significant service to regional and rural areas. If it does, then a lot of policy implications stem from that.

There have been warnings to the effect that the company is facing insolvency. If it is, that very much comes into the political domain because the Government is the shareholder and the matter would have to come before the Dáil in terms of any actions that would flow from a declaration of insolvency. The stance of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is not acceptable. He should have intervened much earlier. For the entirety of 2015 plans were submitted to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport but were left on the shelf because a general election was due at some stage in the following 12 months. In essence, that is the reason an intervention was not made, one that could have eased the situation somewhat, well in advance of the current crisis, but for political reasons the Government of the day decided not to act on plans that were submitted to it concerning the difficulties facing Bus Éireann. That inaction over a long period contributed to the current situation. The idea that one can do everything in one fell swoop and, essentially, accelerate a race to the bottom with regard to terms and conditions is a bridge too far and is one of the reasons we are now heading towards a major industrial conflict, one that could spread to Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and other companies, which would create chaos in people's everyday lives in terms of getting to work and accessing services. We all want to avoid that.

I put it to the Taoiseach time and again that at a minimum the Minister has a responsibility to set the mood music. One gets the sense that he is silently, on the margins, acquiescing to the demise of a State company - a bus transport company - as his own ideological position is one that does not lend itself to the continuation of Bus Éireann. I hope I am wrong. At the very least the Minister should have engaged on the policy issues such as the application of the free travel scheme and the public service obligation routes and facilitated meetings between his Department, the National Transport Authority, Bus Éireann management and unions to tease out the policy dimension to this issue. There are policy dimensions to it. It is not just simply an industrial relations issue that can be put into its box. I put it to the Taoiseach that that type of initiative is now urgently required. Will he discuss with the Minister the initiatives he can take to ensure a contribution is made by him and the Government to the resolution of this issue?

I too welcome our visitors from across the water here today to the Dáil. I hope they enjoy their visit. They may have issues to talk about in respect of Brexit and other matters.

I assure Deputy Micheál Martin that there will be an opportunity to pay tribute to our late colleague, Peter Mathews. I extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Susan and family. He was always a different personality with a particular view in respect of financial circumstances as they applied to the country.

I agree with the Deputy in respect of his question on Bus Éireann that no one wants a strike to happen. It is a matter of grave concern to the Government and to commuters who travel on Bus Éireann that a strike might happen. I assure Deputy Micheál Martin that the Government is committed to a State transport company. A total of 81% of passengers who travel with Bus Éireann use the PSO-subsidised service. As he is aware, it is not possible to subsidise the commercial arm of the company, namely, the Expressway service in the context of Europe and where we are.

I do not agree with the Deputy or accept his comment that the Minister is on the margins silently acquiescing in the demise of a State company. The Minister is but one member of a Cabinet that acts with collective responsibility here. The Cabinet is fully committed to the retention of the State company. In respect of the statements made yesterday by the board, company and trade unions, there is a willingness to engage in the kind of serious discussions that we all understand need to happen to solve this particularly difficult situation. As I pointed out on several occasions, the WRC is ready, as ever, to assist.

There are some in the House who repeatedly claim that the Government and the Minister should do something. When asked what the focus of that particular attention is, it is always about increasing subvention and assessing the free travel scheme. I have already pointed out that the subvention has increased to €40 million and that there is no danger to the free travel scheme. The PSO subvention increased by 11% this year and 13% last year and Bus Éireann has benefitted from a 21% increase in its subvention in 2016. The subvention applies to PSO services only and cannot under law be provided for commercial services. If Expressway is losing €50,000 per day, it is a matter that needs to be addressed. The WRC stands ready to negotiate and discuss with the union and the board.

The Ministers for Transport, Tourism and Sport and Social Protection have already made it perfectly clear and have advised their officials to report back very quickly on the funding of the free travel scheme, to which there is no danger. There is no amount of ministerial action that will resolve the issues internal to Bus Éireann. These issues can only be resolved through direct and realistic negotiations between employer and employees. In respect of rural Ireland, it has already been made perfectly clear that any changes to the Expressway services will be taken up by the National Transport Authority, which will step in and assist in cases where connectivity is threatened. Some Deputies alleged last week that this was an attack on rural Ireland. The public bus service in rural Ireland is expanding through increasing the amount of PSO funding to Bus Éireann and providing a 24% increase in funding for the rural transport scheme. I hope everybody will assess this seriously and take the WRC-----

I know it is an important issue but we are constrained by time.

The Grant Thornton report was submitted to the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Donohoe, and others in January 2016 and the Government sat on it. Why? It was because of the general election. The Government did not want to deal with it. It went on for a full year and a bit and then in one fell swoop, the Government has stated the workers will take the brunt for the entirety of the issues facing Bus Éireann. That is what is happening here. When the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, announced his Estimates for Bus Éireann, he never once alerted anybody to the crisis facing Bus Éireann. Read the press release he issued on the day. It is full of self praise - "I'm doing this, I'm doing that." Did he once alert anybody that there was a crisis coming down the tracks that his predecessor and the Government knew about? In essence, regardless of whether it likes it or is transparent about it or will tell the truth, the Government is presiding over the demise of Bus Éireann as a public transport company. Many within Fine Gael probably agree with that, which is probably at the root of the inertia on the Government side. It is acquiescence in the undermining of the company and the reduction in workers' terms and conditions in one fell swoop to levels that are not fair or acceptable. I find it extraordinary that the Independent Alliance is presiding over and standing by that and is not insisting on a proper policy perspective on this issue. If a State company is going to become insolvent, it de facto becomes an issue for this House and the Government.

A total of 81% of passengers who travel on Bus Éireann travel on a PSO-subsidised route and that subsidy has increased. Rural transport throughout Ireland is increasing and there is an increase in the subvention every year. The problem here, as the Deputy is well aware, is that the Expressway service is losing €50,000 per day.

That needs to be addressed. Who can address that? The WRC stands prepared to take unions and management in there now and discuss this question as to how one might make adjustments and changes to bring about a better situation than one has now. The National Transport Authority, as I have already stated, will assist and assess any changes that occur that arise from changes to the Expressway service. Has the Deputy not heard the people on the national airwaves talking about 45 or 50-seater buses down narrow country lanes? There needs to be a change of assessment as to whether that is valuable or whether it is not.

That is not happening in my area.

Hedge-cutting.

Clonmel to Dublin, narrow country lanes.

If the issue here is the Expressway service and it is losing money on a daily basis, that needs to be addressed.

The Taoiseach is proud of it. There are 55 actions. It goes much more beyond the Expressway service.

Westport to Athlone, narrow country lanes.

The drivers and those who service Bus Éireann throughout the rest of the country carry 81% of the passengers who travel on Bus Éireann and they do so in a professional, diligent and competent fashion. The nub of the issue needs to be addressed and the WRC stands ready to accommodate both sides to see can we avoid a major strike next week which nobody wants.