Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I also welcome the IAA response. Nobody is disputing that the withdrawal of a service by a small group of critical workers is a disproportionate response, to put it mildly, to the issues involved, particularly in a case that most of the public were completely unaware of. On investigation, it seems quite clear there was an industrial relations process in train and the LRC was involved. There was to be a Labour Court hearing next week. When such a process exists, it is obviously incumbent on everybody - workers and management in such a critical role for our country - to ensure they get to the talking stage.

My understanding is a number of people were suspended with pay over a number of weeks. I accept that we have just come from a committee meeting which held an intense debate on the near-collapse of the transport system during the recent freeze-up. In spite of that, there is no evidence that we have had a hands-on approach, as the last Deputy said, from the Minister to ensure the industrial relations machinery maintains service and connectivity, which is a key requirement for our economy. What did the Minister do and what is he doing to ensure that this situation will not prevail for another minute?

See this speech in context