Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Another day and another call for something to be done on the Bus Éireann strike. Yesterday I spent an hour with four bus drivers who were very pessimistic. They are very worried about the future of their company and very upset about its mismanagement over a number of years. They spoke about the fact that senior management of the company changed recently. They also spoke about the background of those now overseeing the company. For all the faults of the previous management, the new management does not have the same interest in engaging with trade union leaders. They are worried about their jobs and about the future of public service transport in this country.

The point made to me was that it is time for the NTA to get involved. We are at the stage where the script is written for us to come to the House and ask the Minister to do something, to come to the House or to intervene in some way. He will not do it. He appears to have no interest in coming to the House or any House to address the fact no Bus Éireann buses are running at present. This is not a one-day strike here or a two-day strike there. It is an all-out strike. As I stated on Tuesday, this could spread to Dublin Bus, the other CIE companies and the school bus service. It is time for the NTA to get involved because it sets the context for public transport in this country. It oversees the entire CIE system and private operators. If the Minister will not do it, surely there is a role for the NTA to get involved. This is far too serious for it to be allowed to continue as is.

I am as guilty as anybody else in the House of personalising issues too much, but in this regard it is quite clear the Minister involved has a responsibility to those who use the service and who believe in public transport. I live in a part of the country which is not served by Bus Éireann with regard to day-to-day use of a bus service so I can speak with a level of independence on the issue. A number of bus drivers were outside the gates of Leinster House yesterday and I thought security was a bit over the top. I do not know why the barriers were put up in such an over the top manner but I will leave that where it is.

When will the political system react to this situation? The company will die if something does not happen. Are we trying to starve the drivers back to work? They will not go. The four gentlemen I met yesterday I am quite sure reflect the entirety of the Bus Éireann workforce. They are not going back to work in the current situation. This has gone beyond one-liners and personality-based politics and I plead with the Leader to make representations to the Minister, Deputy Ross, to come to the House and address the situation, and we can toss over ideas about how we can resolve this issue. In all fairness to everybody in the House, none of us wants to oversee a situation where next we have Dublin Bus out, then the trains out and then school buses not running and we all knew it was coming. I beg of the Leader to make representations to the Minister, Deputy Ross, in all fairness and in good faith to address the House on this issue.

I second Senator O'Sullivan's amendment to the Order of Business.