Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Services from the town of Tralee could be at risk. I understand the figures regarding passengers carried from Tralee are dropping. In view of the competition from Ryanair and so on from Cork Airport, this strike could affect the future or frequency of the service from Tralee.

Rather than go into the nitty gritty of the points local people have properly made and which have been answered in many cases, the point I make is that for 14 weeks in a row this spring, the early morning commuter train from Portlaoise was cancelled because of this industrial action. It is not something that is just confined to Cork but concerns issues that affect commuters right around the country. In his reply, the Minister said he does not disagree with the idea of legislation to deal with this issue. In this LRC document, the key point the commission makes is that where the parties have continued to disagree and the LRC forms that opinion, it should then consult the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and IBEC. The document states that:

The objective of such consultation should be to secure their assistance and co-operation with whatever measures may be necessary to resolve the dispute including, where appropriate, arrangements which would provide a basis for a continuation of normal working for a period not exceeding six months while further efforts by the parties themselves or the dispute settlement agencies were being made to secure a full and final settlement of the issues in dispute.

That is the core point I make to the Minister about the "no strike" clause. Effectively, having gone through all the options, ultimately, the LRC tells both the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and business people that they must go back to work for six weeks and that it will continue to make every effort to resolve this dispute. We must take a firm stand on this and if legislation is needed, I put it to the Minister that this is the sort of "no strike" clause that would effectively come into play at that point.

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