Sir, – I notice the latest Dart performance statistics show punctuality to be down to 80 per cent. In other words, despite operating on only a single line of rail, one-in-five trains runs at least five minutes late. These latest statistics come mere days after fares were increased by up to 14 per cent. It seems the worse the service, the more we pay.
Meanwhile, the average CIÉ salary remains untouched at €52,000 per annum, over 30 per cent above the national average.
I find it extraordinary that Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar persists with his policy of throwing good money after bad by continuing to fund this most dysfunctional of public sector companies, more so as CIÉ doesn’t even give the pretence of adopting a viable business model any time soon.
It was my understanding that Croke Park was an agreement that, in return for leaving public sector salaries untouched, unions promised improved efficiency and an increase in overall performance? Clearly in the case of CIÉ the Government was duped. So, why then, is the Government upholding its Croke Park obligations when the unions are so clearly not upholding theirs? – Yours, etc,