Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Notwithstanding what the Minister said at the end about the process going ahead, my principal concern having spoken to the various trade union representatives is that we are allowing or could allow a situation to evolve in which we will have an unnecessary strike or a cessation of Dublin bus services over something that is avoidable. Anyone with knowledge of industrial relations would understand that unless the parties concerned are talking to each other, there will not be progress.

I appreciate that this process has gone on for some time, although not for too long in the overall context. It is part of the European process. Notwithstanding that, for the National Transport Authority to state casually that it is going ahead with the tendering process is, in layman's terms, like a red rag to a bull. We can understand the reaction from workers and their unions. They see a situation in which they are going to be forced into a position where they have to make a stand. That should be avoided. That is my principal case to the Minister. That should not be allowed to unfold. Sometimes strikes happen by default. No worker wants to go on strike; they are not always beneficial. No one should be put in that situation. A strike is always a last resort for people in trade unions. Again, I urge the Minister to do whatever he possibly can.

I have taken note of Deputy Dooley's contribution. He spent most of his two minutes talking about privatisation and the Labour Party. His memory is short. He should consider Aer Lingus as well as what he and Fianna Fáil did to the subsidy to Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, etc. He should check some facts before he contributes to Topical Issue debates.

See this speech in context