Job losses in the proposed restructuring of CIE would be voluntary, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, assured the Dáil.
"In so far as there are issues to do with securing of employment, pensions and terms and conditions, I have no difficulty in dealing with all of those," he said.
"I believe we can negotiate them to the satisfaction of the people who work in CIE today. I do not envisage compulsory redundancies of any sort, but I do envisage reform along the lines I have laid out."
The Minister rejected a claim by Ms Roisin Shortall (Labour, Dublin North West) that he was forcing his proposals for the restructuring of CIE on transport workers. "Does he accept that valid points are being put forward by the unions concerned, not just in their own self-interest but in respect of the points they make about the experience in the United Kingdom, in particular the disastrous outcome of the privatisation there and the case being made for retaining public transport services in public ownership?" she asked.
Mr Brennan said he had made two sets of proposals. "One is to open the Dublin Bus market to the private sector by 25 per cent in 2004," he added. "I have also proposed that the holding company in CIE will be dissolved and the three companies established independently as State companies so that they can compete with each other and offer alternative services to the public. I have made it clear at all stages that I and the Government fully respect the social partnership arrangements and the agreements entered into."
Ms Shortall said that valid points were being put forward by the unions concerned, not just in their own self-interest but in respect of the points they made about the experience in the United Kingdom, "particularly the disastrous outcome of privatisation there and the case being made for retaining public transport services in public ownership."
Pressed further by Ms Shortall, the Minister said that London city, which was a franchise operation, had a regulator. "They go out to tender and they franchise all the routes in London city," he added. He said that the number of people using buses in London had increased dramatically and the subsidy per travelling passenger had decreased dramatically.
However, he believed that a fatal mistake had been made in the UK in privatising the rail-track network.
Asked by Ms Shortall when a regulator would be appointed, Mr Brennan said this would happen as soon as the legislation came before the House.
