Results 8,461-8,480 of 10,460 for speaker:Gerry Horkan
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: I now invite Mr. Feargal Barton to make his opening statement.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: I thank Mr. Edwards. Senator Timmy Dooley is in the next committee room discussing something far less important than this and I will be taking his speaking slot. I will take a few minutes and then I will bring in Senator Doherty and Deputies Smith and O'Rourke and so on. A lot of this has been in the ether for a while from all of the operators. I have met with various representatives...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: If the person fails that test, it is then another three weeks before the company can get a retest. After that, Mr. Edwards mentioned previously that even after a driver passes this it can take five weeks to get the bit of plastic for the CPC. Is that correct?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: In theory, if there were no blockages in the system, Go-Ahead Ireland could take somebody on, they could do the theory test immediately, subject to knowing the stuff already, and Go-Ahead Ireland could get the test that week and the CPC card. Reference was made to allowing drivers to operate for a certain window without the actual piece of plastic. There is no value in the piece of plastic...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: One needs to do training.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: Could that be done while the driver is waiting or before the theory test is passed?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: And he or she must pass that.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: There is already a four-week window of taking somebody on, putting them on the payroll, and they are waiting four weeks to do a theory test. They are not productive.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: That is assuming the person has employment previously.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: But if the person does not, is it the case that Go-Ahead Ireland does not put the person on the payroll until he or she has passed the theory test?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: In the case of a person who has done his or her leaving certificate and is interested in becoming a bus driver and does not have a job, if they apply to Go-Ahead Ireland today to get a job, what happens?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: What if it was a 21-year-old who is not in employment and has been to college at third level to do a diploma in something?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: People are not on the payroll until then.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: Is that when the 20 hours to 30 hours of training comes in?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: I am sorry to ask but I am trying to get a handle on just how complicated it is. If Go-Ahead Ireland interviews the person today and is happy to take him or her on, it is then somewhere between two to four weeks before the person gets a theory test, and nothing else can happen until the person passes the theory test.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: Then the person must wait for a learner permit.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: How long does that take?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: Okay, that is seven days to three weeks just to get the learner permit. There is no driver getting in the cab and no practising can happen until he or she gets the learner permit.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: Is that when the driver can do the 20 to 30 hours driver training?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Driver Recruitment: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)
Gerry Horkan: The minute that the driver receives the learner permit, can Go-Ahead Ireland then apply for the test for the driver?