Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I suggest that after this discussion, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport should meet the transport workers who provide the transport service. They will explain to him that this crisis has been manufactured, the game is rigged and the playing field is not level. Everything has conspired to force this dispute. The workers who have been suffering on the picket line for 12 days are determined that they will not be done down to the extent of 30% pay cuts and an assault on our public transport system. The Minister did not respond to what I said about TII's revelation that it has an extra €100 million it did not expect to have. I reiterate that €100 million is going a-begging. What would be more appropriate than spending some of this additional €100 million, which is not earmarked for anything, on the resolution of a national transport strike that is about protecting our bus transport infrastructure and ensuring towns and villages up and down this country have a public service transport infrastructure? The Minister should meet the workers and he should take some money from TII.

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