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

Even the WHO has said that being a bus driver is one of the most stressful jobs. I think it is the third most stressful job you can have. With traffic congestion in Dublin and so on, that is made even worse.

Competitive tendering is creating a race to the bottom and Go-Ahead Ireland is the worst offender. It haemorrhaged bus drivers over the last year because pay and, particularly, conditions, including lack of work-life balance and long shifts, were so bad. That is also causing problems for Dublin Bus. When Dublin Bus workers rejected by 85% an attempt to further deteriorate their conditions, work-life balance and shifts, what was the main selling point of the company in trying to ram that deal down their throat? It was the need to compete with Go-Ahead Ireland. That is what they said. Go-Ahead Ireland is leading the race to the bottom. Competitive tendering and privatisation are creating the conditions where bus drivers do not want to join these companies. People do not want to be bus drivers because the pay, conditions, work-life balance and shifts are so flipping awful. That has to be addressed and privatisation is an obstacle to that. Go-Ahead Ireland exacerbates it and the ordinary user of bus services faces the horror stories I have in front of me concerning the 175, the 17, the 75 and the 114 not turning up, turning up hours late and so on.

See this speech in context