Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. As I said earlier, if companies are not delivering on the terms of the contract and the service level agreements, there have to be consequences. The NTA has that stick with which to impose fines. The operators that cannot meet service standards cannot expect that they will retain and continue to provide services on particular routes. It is a problem. There is an issue right across all public transport companies and the various sectors of the economy. We know about the issues with getting full employment and the real difficulty in getting trained staff in. It is a real problem. However, that cannot just be allowed to continue. We have to examine it and intervene. I mentioned earlier that Go-Ahead Ireland is taking driver applications at present. One of the key issues that we have to examine is the training apprenticeship model. As I understand it, Dublin Bus has a more traditional apprenticeship-type system, where candidates are taken in and right through. I will say to the NTA that we must look at the apprenticeship and other training models to ensure we have the drivers we need, and not just accept the shortage as an ongoing reality.

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