Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I know I am confined to two minutes so I will be brief. In respect of the Kentstown bus accident, the gardaí on the scene made it clear that they were going to prosecute that case. The HSA came in more on the roadworks element of it. Incidents like that can be dealt with either by the gardaí, the HSA or, in the case of railway safety, the Railway Safety Commission.

The spirit of this Bill incorporates Regulation (EC) No. 1370/2007. The directive will come into force on 1 September 2009 and we will be subject to that through regulations so the Deputy's concerns in respect of preambles or anything else relating to railway or bus workers are being and will be fully met.

The other matters are really matters of national import. They are being dealt with at national level by my colleagues in Government and the social partners, and this is the best approach. As I stated on Committee Stage, in keeping with the Bill's provisions, if agreements are made that affect anything in this Bill in respect of terms and conditions of employment or anything else, they will be suitably transposed into a new piece of legislation.

See this speech in context