Eoghan Harris (Independent)

Although I left Marxism behind in 1989, I continue to believe strongly that there is a great deal of class discrimination in Ireland. Trade union leaders need to examine carefully the question of class. I strongly condemn the conduct of the current Dublin Bus dispute. The manner in which it is targeting working people is contrary to the best traditions of Irish trade unionism. The leader of the dispute is coming across on radio and television like a caricature of the union leaders we had in the bad old days. I refer to people like Tom Darby of the National Busmen's Union. I thought we had left those days behind. The current dispute is being conducted against working people. The dispute is a matter of total indifference to Dublin 4. When James Connolly said that unions should never bring workers out in the winter — they should be brought out in the summer — he meant that the effects of industrial disputes should be felt by the rich, wealthy and affluent. He was referring to the Ross O'Carroll-Kellys rather than the working class of Dublin, in this case the hard-working people of west Dublin.