Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is a big issue. In Dublin, both Go-Ahead and Dublin Bus are advertising. I am hearing they are starting to get the staff. The very large advertising campaigns have seen people coming in. It is not just drivers that are a real challenge but also maintenance staff. Many bus companies find that they might have very good staff but there are very attractive salaries in other industries which require many of the same skills. People like fitters have the same mechanical skills. We have to meet this challenge. It is a priority that we expand our public transport service and we will do everything to assist the companies to get those additional staff.