The threat of a national rail strike next week has lifted. This follows the intervention of the Government-appointed Iarnrod Eireann review group into a long-running dispute over drivers' pay.
Dublin-based drivers have now lifted their embargo on a new Maynooth suburban service, which comes into operation on Monday.
The new service will carry an extra 5,000 passengers a day and there will be a full Sunday service. A £40 million investment was in place to provide a service in March but had been blocked by drivers based in Dublin's Connolly station until grievances over pay parity with DART drivers were addressed. The Connolly drivers claim they are paid less and work longer hours than DART drivers.
Iarnrod Eireann had threatened to introduce the Maynooth service unilaterally from Monday, disciplining any driver who refused to work new rosters. In this event, the unions had warned the dispute would spread and had already held a strike ballot.
Last Monday, former SIPTU general secretary Mr Billy Attley, a member of the Government's review group, met drivers' representatives. He said the group would carry out a detailed investigation into their grievances if drivers co-operated with the Maynooth service.
The general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, Mr Liam Tobin, said yesterday drivers had agreed to Mr Attley's proposal and would operate the service.
The review group, however, has a difficult task. Last month, the Labour Court ruled that pay deals for mainline drivers and DART drivers were separate. The unions claim verbal commitments were given by management that mainline drivers would not be paid less than DART drivers.