Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the ballot took place in June 2020 and that the changes were agreed by the workers, but this is the end of April 2022. Why is this important? It is because it says a lot about how, at senior levels, the Department and the State view bus drivers, train drivers and transport workers generally and about the priority they are afforded. They will get an increase of €30 a week in the pension from a meagre €130 to €160 and they will get an increase in their lump sums of €20,000. This will make a huge difference to their lives. My father worked in Dublin Bus, which was then called CIÉ, for 40 years and retired on a pension of £16. Thanks be to God it has improved hugely but it is still meagre compared to what the Minister will get and compared to what I will get. The lack of urgency with which we are dealing with this says a great deal about how the Department and the State treat some of our most front-line workers. We saw how important they are to society during Covid. When will the Minister sign the statutory instrument that will give effect to these increases?

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