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

I thank the Deputy for highlighting one of the biggest ongoing challenges facing the public transport sector. I confirm that my Department continues to engage extensively with the NTA and operators on this issue.

Unfortunately, it is the case that many operators, both public and private, continue to experience difficulties in recruiting new drivers. In its attempts to attract new drivers to the company in the numbers required, Bus Éireann has undertaken significant driver recruitment campaigns in recent months, engaged in press activation, introduced an employee referral programme, and run more than 30 open days to attract drivers. Bus Éireann has also set up dedicated training schools in counties Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford to train drivers who have B class car licences to achieve the requisite D class licence to drive a bus. I am pleased to advise that the driver pipeline is building slowly due to the growing focus that the company has placed on B licence drivers and that the combination of these efforts has resulted in nearly 500 new drivers being recruited by the company since the beginning of last year. However, the situation remains challenging and, despite these efforts, Bus Éireann has advised that it still has some 66 vacancies throughout the country.

In the short term, Bus Éireann continues to build a pool of candidates that can be trained to become bus drivers but until all these positions are filled, Bus Éireann will be challenged in delivering services. Bus Éireann, and other transport operators in the country, have been working hard to fill bus driver positions as evident from their comprehensive recruitment campaigns. The NTA meanwhile continues to work closely with all operators to try to mitigate the impacts of these driver shortages and will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves.

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