Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has a huge responsibility to the travelling public, the company and workforce to ensure rolling strikes on 1 November, 7 November, 14 November, 23 November and 8 December do not go ahead. He needs to take action to ensure it is stopped. The public wants it settled quickly. The Minister has said he has no influence on the CEO's veto, which happened when unions and management were very close to a settlement. The Minister and Government have set the parameters on public sector pay. There are five trade unions which acted in good faith. They are willing to discuss productivity. The Minister mentioned the Labour Court report. They want the national railway company to be dynamic and successful. It has a huge future role in the context of climate change and increased population. That is against a background where this and the previous Government cut well over €100 million from the public service obligation, PSO, and now the Government is threatening to cut another four lines of our very basic rail network. We should be talking about expanding our rail network, building a Luas system in Cork and Galway and so on, not this kind of very negative, penny-pinching talk that the Minister has always engaged in with regard to public services.

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