Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I genuinely thank all the witnesses for coming today and for their opening statements, as well as the various visits that have been organised, sometimes through the committee and sometimes outside of it.

We had an awful lot of meetings last year which were based on operational crises, but we have reached a space now where we need to collate the recommendations and come up with a view on where the committee stands on the issues that were presented to us. We have to do that out of respect to the witnesses who have come multiple times to see us and in particular for the statements and submissions they have given today.

I will run through a few questions and then I will leave it to the witnesses to answer. My first question is to Mr. Barton and Mr. Martin. An issue has been raised with me locally, which relates to one of their recommendations, about over-70s being unable to do school transport. Do they have any idea of how many drivers they are losing in that regard? Has there been ongoing political campaigning or discussion or is it a dead issue, as it were, that has fallen flat?

I will run through all of my questions and the witnesses can come back in afterwards. What impact are the cost of living, inflation and housing costs having on retaining and attracting staff? None of the organisations here are low-pay employers; they are good employers that are paying good wages. What kind of threats outside their industries are taking staff away from them?

On the shortage of mechanics, we have traditional diesel-powered buses but Dublin Bus is moving to hydrogen buses, some of which I have seen on the streets. Does that require a specific set of mechanic skills for which there is an even more desperate lack of supply when compared with the traditional mechanic skills we would have for the traditional bus? Is there just one big shortage or is there a double stream of shortages?

There are major issues with disability access and toilet services on bus services. Toilet services used to be provide on long-distance routes. I have heard from Deputies in my party who travel long distances, maybe for hospital appointments, that they feel they are unable to use Bus Éireann because of that issue. It is not so much an issue with Dublin Bus because of the short journeys. Disability access is available on Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland services but there are bigger wheelchairs that cannot access the buses. I have spoken about this before. For some reason, there is no access to coach services.

One of the opening statements, maybe from Bus Éireann, described the societal view of the job being an impact. The job of being a bus driver and driving a coach would traditionally be aspirational and something that people would want to do from when they were young. We heard the story of Terry who has been working in Dublin Bus for 50 years. A Dublin bus driver called Walter Bruce on Twitter gives a wonderful insight to the job of transporting people. It is a warts and all account but it comes from a positive place. I know that is not something that can be organised through each company and that it is a natural thing that an individual worker is doing, but it gives an unbelievable insight to how valuable and important the job is. If that kind of experience were to be projected out there a little more, it might tackle the message being put forward when it comes to negative societal aspects on the job. I have talked down my time. I ask for some responses on those points.