Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What timescale will the Minister put on this matter? Will it continue for one or two weeks? What will happen if the staff of Dublin Bus and Irish Rail decide to take industrial action? Will the country be allowed to come to a standstill? I maintain that the Minister has fantastic negotiating skills and I ask him to please intervene in the Bus Éireann dispute. This country was on its hands and knees but it has come a long way since then. Many people have been involved in negotiations but the dispute has still not been resolved. The Minister has the skills and power to assist. The public want him to get involved in negotiations. I am a member of the Fine Gael Party and part of this Government in the same way as the Minister is at the moment. I did not come here to criticise people. The Minister has the negotiating skills so he must get involved. I plead with him not to let the dispute go any further. The economy has come a long way and I do not want us to lose that. Thousands of jobs are affected by the dispute and millions of euro will be lost.