Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Is the core of this wildcat strike the refusal of a driver to drive a train, which is his job? The key to the solution of this is the draft proposal made by the Labour Relations Commission in 1992 on essential services, to which the Minister referred. Where essential services are affected, such as rail transport in this case or the air traffic controllers strike earlier this year, we must have an agreement between the social partners — the unions and employers — and this must be based on the consent of both sides. A "no strike" clause must apply to the new code for essential services. Notwithstanding that it is 16 years since these proposals were first made, is it not the case that this proposal does not apply?

Ireland has dropped 17 places in international competitiveness in a few short years. We cannot afford to have the image portrayed that Ireland is a bad place to invest in with the cancellation of major intercity trains between the county's two largest business and urban centres for days on end. If we have a "no strike" clause in place and if there is a new partnership agreement, as part of the Minister's role should he not intervene in partnership agreements to ensure a mandatory cooling off period of six months at a minimum in a case like this? The vast majority of workers do not want or support this strike but a small number of wildcat strikers are getting away with it. We must deal with them effectively in the modern economy. We must put them outside the agreement of workers and unions who consent to this. We must ensure our economy is not held to ransom by people refusing to drive a train, which is actually their job.

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