Today again witnesses huge disruption for up to 155,000 passengers on our railway system, the DART and so on. These are people going to work and to hospital appointments on intercity routes. This huge disruption is not good for our economy. The rail workers have not had a pay increase in ten years. They do not want to be on the picket line and they are very anxious for an orderly, proactive resolution of this dispute.

The origins of and background to this lie in a lack of proactivity from Government, in particular the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in regard to public transport policy in general and in terms of investment in our railway system.

In the aftermath of the bus strike the Minister made serious commitments to convene a stakeholders' forum involving the National Transport Authority, NTA; his Department, Irish Rail and the unions, but it was never convened. The whole idea was to try to prevent the industrial relations turmoil that, sadly, has been too much of a feature of the public transport system in the past two years. I would like to know why the stakeholders' forum has not been convened.

A national rail review was initiated 12 months ago and submissions were sought from everyone. Political parties made submissions, as did various interested bodies, but the review has never seen the light of day. Where is it?

There is an overall funding issue pertaining to Irish Rail and the railway system. The NTA has stated there are major issues and that, at a minimum and just to stand still in the next five years, Irish Rail will need €103 million over and above what it is receiving in order to ensure the tracks will be up to speed and existing deficits will be bridged. If we are serious about tackling climate change, public transport will be a key enabler in Ireland meeting its targets in that regard. Investment in public transport, including railways, will be essential if we are to meet the climate change targets we have set.

That is the policy background to today's industrial dispute. I argue that we are where we are because of a lack of proactivity on the part of the Minister and his lack of empathy towards the idea behind public transport. Given his public utterances during the years, he has a long track record of lacking basic sympathy for and empathy with Bus Éireann, Irish Rail and CIÉ overall. That has been his form. However, a country is now at stake. Instead of tweeting about the fortunes of Manchester United or contemplating publicly a fantasy visit to North Korea, he would be far better off focusing on issues within his realm of responsibility, including industrial relations in the transport sector. It would be far better if he were to concentrate on having these issues resolved and proactively deal with them well in advance in order that we do not arrive at a situation like today's.

When will the national rail review be published? Why did the Minister not convene the stakeholders' forum? Does the Taoiseach accept that, in the context of an effective and viable rail network, a step change in investment will have to occur? Will we see more proactivity on the part of the Minister in terms of public transport policy?

I thank the Deputy. As far as I know, the stakeholders' forum has been convened, or at least efforts are being made to set a date for its first meeting, but I will double check with the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross. I do not have a date for publication of the rail review, but the Deputy will be aware of many public-----

I am sorry-----

I do not have a date for publication of the rail review, but the Deputy will be aware that there have been many other publications of rail reviews in the not too distant past. Today is the second day of the train strike. I understand the unions have now announced plans for three more strike days in the next few weeks. I agree with the Deputy that the strike is very much to be regretted. Some 150,000 passengers are being inconvenienced today - people who are trying to get to work, to go about their daily business and to get to hospital appointments. Of course, others are being very badly affected, too, in buses that are more crowded and because of much heavier traffic on the streets. Also, staff have lost income. People with associated businesses in train stations are losing out, too. The strike has further undermined the company's financial position. However, I have no doubt that, as is the case with all strikes in CIÉ involving train and bus services, the strike will be resolved. It will be resolved in the normal way, under the auspices of the State through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and, if need be, the Labour Court. Certainly, I encourage both the unions and management to engage with the WRC or the Labour Court, as necessary, and let us have the strike settled and resolved there, as it always is. It is regrettable that, when it comes to CIÉ, for some reason it is always necessary to have a few days of strike action when other disputes can be resolved at the WRC or the Labour Court without a strike, but the time has certainly come for the unions and management to engage with the WRC or the Labour Court. Let us settle the strike and avoid further inconvenience, loss of income or damage to the company.

It is absolutely the case that during the recession funding for Iarnród Éireann was cut back significantly.

It is important to tell the story of the last three years. Over the past three years, there has been a 35% increase in the subvention for Irish Rail, which is significant relative to other public bodies. The numbers of passengers has increased, which means more fares are coming into the company. Fares have also increased. The company has benefitted in three ways from additional revenue. There has been additional subvention, more passengers and higher fares.

The question which now arises is how those resources should be spent. Should they be spent on shoring up the financial position of the company, paying down its debt in order to secure jobs and services into the future? Should the money be used to improve services for passengers, such as more trains more frequently? Should it be used to fund pay increases? From the tone of the Deputy's question, I think he shares the view that the money should go into investment in services, the company and infrastructure.

Presumably, that is what a rail review would come up with and why everybody was asked to make submissions 12 months ago. The Taoiseach is not in a position today to tell me when that will be published or the work completed.

The bus dispute was six months ago. He committed, prior to its resolution and acceptance of the Labour Court recommendation, to convene a stakeholders' forum. He is flailing around and asking people to come up with the type of forum he should convene. It is the job of the Minister to get on with it and convene a forum of that kind.

Given the febrile nature of industrial relations and public transport, he had an obligation to do that. He should have done so six months ago in the immediate aftermath of the bus dispute but he did not do so. We now find ourselves in another dispute. It stems from a lack of proactivity in respect of the public transport sector.

In terms of investment, a step change is required if one is to believe the assessment of the NTA on the current position of Iarnród Éireann and the need for an additional €103 million per annum simply to stand still. This might be unpalatable for people to take on board, but it is what it is. It has raised safety issues, train times becoming slower between cities and so on. It would have sent a very important signal, in the context of the rail review, if people were assured of a Government commitment to public transport and railways, in particular, given the wider Government objectives on climate change and so on.

Workers do not want to be on strike. The Taoiseach cannot casually say that they had to go on strike. They do not want to be there.

I am not going to allow slippage today to the extent that one minute becomes two minutes.

As I said, now that we have some money we have invested in the railways. There has been a 35% increase in subvention in three years. Very few semi-State or public bodies have had a 35% increase in subvention in the past three years. Between 2008 and 2016, an extra €5 billion was invested in CIÉ companies, the bulk of which, some €3.7 billion, went to Iarnród Éireann even though it does not accommodate the bulk of passengers. Very many more people travel by bus than by train in Ireland.

I agree it will be useful to convene the stakeholders' forum and I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Ross, about that. It would also be useful to publish the rail review. However, I do not think for a second that publishing the rail review or convening a stakeholders' forum will resolve this dispute. This is a pay dispute. Ultimately, it is about salaries, wages and money.

We are aligned on one thing, namely, that we need to invest more in public transport and make sure that our railways are safe. We need to improve line speeds and buy more carriages so that we can have a better quality of train service for passengers. We need a safer service and one which helps us to deal with climate change. That means the vast majority of additional revenue which goes into companies, whether through subvention, fares or additional passengers, should go into improving services and making them safer and better, rather than into pay increases.

Tá an cheist chéanna agamsa faoin stailc in Iarnród Éireann. Mar a bhfuil a fhios ag an Taoiseach, tá a lán daoine faoi bhrú inniu agus iad gan traein. Creidim go bhfuil ceart ag an lucht oibre. Tá ceist mhór ann faoin Aire. Cá bhfuil an tAire, an Teachta Ross? An bhfuil sé ann? Níl.

The decision of workers to engage in industrial action is completely understandable. They have not had a pay rise in ten years. There are looking for fairness, which is an increase in line with the transport workers.

The Taoiseach knows that in 2016, the revenues for Iarnród Éireann were a record high of €245 million. Passenger numbers have increased hugely and the company is looking forward to the best ever passenger numbers since its foundation, yet it refuses to pay its workers a fair wage and lectures them about the financial crisis facing the company. The financial crisis was not caused by the workers but rather by successive Governments. The Taoiseach is a former Minister with responsibility for transport and will not admit this but bad Government policy is at the heart of the transport chaos.

The question must be asked as to where the Government is in all of this. Where is the Minister? The Taoiseach claims not to be a keeper of his Ministers but where is the Minister with responsibility for transport? The National Transport Authority's 2016 rail review document laid out in black and white how much investment is needed by the company, but what is the Minister's attitude to this? We have seen little or no interest from him in addressing the matters raised in the report. The stakeholders' meeting has not been convened and it is an example of the way the Minister does not have a focus or the urgency required in all this. Given his efforts towards peace - perhaps he is Minister with responsibility for North Korean affairs in his own head - I suppose a rail strike is a very trivial matter for a man so preoccupied with such big matters.

The Deputy is not so bad at it himself.

It is little wonder a union official stated there is no point in calling for the Minister to intervene. The Government has a responsibility and is the sole shareholder in the company. Unless there is an intervention and the Minister faces up to the challenges facing the State's public transport network, we will have continued safety concerns, other difficulties and stress placed upon workers, their families and train users.

Will the Taoiseach step in to ensure the rail workers' very reasonable demands are met as a matter of urgency? Will he ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, to do his job? He is paid many times more than any Irish Rail worker and it is time he worked for it. Will the Taoiseach hold him to account?

Níl a fhios agam. Bhí an tAire ag an gcruinniú Rialtais ar maidin. Tá sé imithe anois, áfach.

In North Korea.

No, he is definitely in Baile Átha Cliath.

A one-way ticket. We can all chip in.

Where is he? He is responsible for public transport.

The unions could advise him over there.

A non-return ticket.

I can certainly assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Ross, is in the country because he was at the Cabinet meeting this morning and briefed it on the rail dispute, the options open to us and the next steps that may follow.

I hear a real contradiction in the position being put across from Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. I am not sure if the Deputy hears the contradiction but it is there. Both the leader of Sinn Féin and of Fianna Fáil have said we need to invest in our railways, that we need to make them safer and we need to improve line speeds. They argue we need more carriages and capacity, better services for passengers and to deal with climate change. At the same time, the parties, or Sinn Féin at least, seems to be arguing that it supports demands for pay rises substantially above the increases being paid to others in the public and private sector.

Are they not exclusive issues?

It cannot be both. That is not honest politics. One cannot argue for pay rises in Irish Rail substantially above the pay rises that people are getting in the public service next year-----

What about Deputies' pay rises?

-----while at the same time arguing there should be investment in the railways for all those good reasons. That is just not an honest position.

The company has more money and, as I mentioned, the subvention has gone up and passenger numbers are increasing. The targets I set as Minister with responsibility for transport to increase the use of public transport are being met. Fares have gone up as well, so more revenue is going to the company. This must be split three ways, with the first paying the debt, making the company more solvent and securing its future in the long term. It must also improve services for passengers and pay for the staff. We must split the resources three ways and make priorities. The consensus of this House is that while there should be some form of pay increase, the priority should be investment in infrastructure, safety, line speeds and carriages while improving services for passengers and dealing with climate change.

Of course the Government can intervene, but it does not do so in such disputes through ministerial intervention, as that has not been the case for a very long time.

The way that is done is through the bodies that are established by this House and funded by the State to manage industrial relations disputes. These are the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, in the first instance and the Labour Court thereafter. I know that the Labour Court and the WRC are willing to intervene in this dispute if they believe there is sufficient willingness from both management and unions to come to an agreement. I hope that willingness exists, and if it does I am sure there will be a Labour Court intervention.

The Taoiseach is gaining a reputation for having a hard edge to his tongue. Supporting workers' rights is interpreted by him as, "Not honest politics". Within 12 months, Deputies and Ministers will have grand increases in wages - €10,000 for Deputies and €15,000 for Ministers - yet the Taoiseach lectures rail workers because they are seeking a reasonable pay increase, which they have not received for ten years.

I understand that the Cabinet met this morning. Was the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, at the Cabinet meeting? Did he mention this issue? This is a rail strike. Thousands of people have been discommoded today. Was it mentioned, even informally at the side of the meeting? Was it on the agenda? Some common sense is required here. The Taoiseach has recently spoken about removing the right of workers to strike and to ban them from standing up for their rights. Instead of that type of right-wing rhetoric, perhaps he should appreciate that the rail workers' demands are very reasonable. The Government should make it clear that the ten-year pay freeze should be ended, and the Taoiseach should take the opportunity to signal that now. He should remember that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, is the main stakeholder. He is supposed to act in the best interests of the public. Will the Taoiseach commit to doing this?

The Deputy is gaining a reputation for just not listening, or perhaps he does not understand what is going on around him. Perhaps, indeed, the supplementary question was pre-written and he was unable to depart from it. In my reply, in both Irish and English, I said that the Minister, Deputy Ross, was at the meeting this morning and that he did brief us on the dispute.

To correct Deputy Adams, Ministers will not be accepting any pay rise next year. The decision was taken some time ago-----

The Deputy said Deputies.

-----to forgo any pay restoration during the period of this Government. I can absolutely guarantee that the Government is putting public services and the interests of others ahead of any pay restoration for ourselves.

It is also important to point out that what is happening for public servants next year is pay restoration, or the reversal of pay cuts that happened in the past. It will comprise a 1% increase in January and 1% later in the year. Those pay cuts were not imposed on Irish Rail.