asked the Minister for Education if he is prepared to make alternative arrangements for the transport of children until the school bus drivers' strike is settled.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Transport.
30.
I am anxious above all that the strike be settled and have appealed to those drivers remaining on unofficial strike to return to work. I am seriously concerned over the problems raised for school children by the continuance of this strike and the matter is receiving constant attention in my Department. I am not in a position at the present time to add to my statements in this connection in reply to previous questions and to the debate on the Adjournment of the Dáil on 1st May, 1974.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary adopt some means to highlight the serious position that children find themselves in especially those living in rural areas? Would the Parliamentary Secretary assure the House that there is no lying down on the job because many parents are exceedingly worried that the strike will go on until after the academic year has ended? They are also concerned that nobody appears to be doing anything about the dispute.
I should like to assure the House that there is no lying down on the job in this regard. There is very serious concern about the implications of this dispute for the children. On the three occasions that this matter was raised I have voiced, with the full support of the Government and my Minister, our grave concern about the implications of this dispute and our anxiety to see it resolved. I do so again now. I should like to make it clear that this is a dispute between CIE and portion of a category of their employees.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary accept that the statement I made to him that the president of the Federation of Rural Workers stated on the radio, and has since repeated to me, that if CIE would talk to him these drivers would be back working very shortly?
I dealt with that specific question from the Deputy when it was put to me during the Adjournment debate on 1st May. I stated then:
CIE have been in correspondence with the Federation of Rural Workers on aspects of the claim not covered by the Labour Court recommendations of 26th March, 1974 and I have asked them to show that the maximum goodwill in this correspondence——
Is it in order for the Parliamentary Secretary to quote at Question Time?
I am not aware of any inhibition on the part of the Parliamentary Secretary in replying.
That is a facility denied to the Opposition during Question Time and why should the Government side have it?
The position is that either the Opposition want an answer or they do not. If they wish to obstruct then I cannot give them an answer.
I should like to put it to the Parliamentary Secretary that he might, instead of expressing concern, have a word with the Federation of Rural Workers and not be hoping that somebody is going to help him settle this without doing anything about it.
Deputies should appreciate that we debated this matter on the Adjournment only last week.
Is it not a fact that as CIE are receiving money from the Department of Education for services they are not providing they are not in any hurry to settle this strike?
I can assure the Deputy that the terms of employment of the part-time employees are within the terms, to a certain extent, of the national wage agreement and they are also covered by Labour Court recommendations. This is an unofficial dispute. All of these facts did, in accordance with the accepted practices of industrial relations, inhibit, to a significant extent, the possibilities for intervention by third parties whether they are Members of the Government or otherwise. The Opposition will appreciate that this has been accepted practice in the past and that it is something that should not be departed from lightly.
The Deputies should appreciate that the Chair has given every facility to them to ventilate this matter in recent days.
The matter was raised on an Adjournment debate last week and we cannot have a further debate at Question Time.
The Parliamentary Secretary, in his reply, stated that the Minister had issued an appeal to the drivers on strike and I should like to ask what form did this appeal take?
In the first instance the Minister did not make the appeal. I made the appeal. I made it on the record of this House in response to the initial question by Deputy O'Leary, and, subsequently, when the matter was raised on the adjournment on 1st May by Deputy Wilson, and again today.
That is the sum total of what has been done?
That is not correct. Just now I have answered a specific question.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary not consider that the emphasis should be on the children and not on the bus drivers or CIE? The Parliamentary Secretary has not mentioned that his responsibility is to the suffering children. He should take off his coat, roll up his sleeves, go to the Department of Labour and get this dispute resolved.
Or else resign.
I can assure the Deputies that every day I am involved in relation to this dispute in doing what I can to achieve a settlement of it. However, I have indicated in reply to a supplementary the inhibitions that operate in relation to this matter and I would ask Deputies, in all conscience, to accept what I have said as being a true statement of the facts.
I cannot accept that as being adequate.
The fact that any such arrangement will have to be made against the background of an industrial dispute would create considerable difficulty and there are not that many vehicles available in the areas concerned.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of the acute situation we have in Wexford where we had a vocational school strike lasting almost 20 weeks with the result that children attending such schools had no education for that period? This strike is worse. I should like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary to have a word with his colleague, the Minister for Local Government, who is a member of this union, in an effort to get these drivers back to work.
I should like to make it crystal clear that my Department is not directly responsible in this matter. There is a dispute in existence between a number of drivers, who are on unofficial strike without the support of their union, and CIE. There is no dispute between these drivers and the Department. The drivers' dispute is with CIE but they are on unofficial strike. This strike has not been authorised by their union or any union.
(Interruptions.)
I have allowed an adequate number of supplementaries and I am calling the next question.
That is a right bit of bluff.
The Deputies opposite should tell us how long the bank strike went on for.