The Government is reluctant to introduce alternative public transport during the Dublin Bus dispute but the matter is under consideration, the Minister for Public Enterprise stated.

Ms O'Rourke said there was no doubt that the level of hardship was extreme. "I have spoken individually to people who have telephoned my office throughout the morning and each one had a different, harrowing story to tell. They are hugely inconvenienced. We are keeping alternative transport under review, but I am very loath to take that road."

She was responding, during an emergency debate on the strike, to the Fine Gael spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Ivan Yates, who said the Minister had made it quite clear she would not concede the pay demand.

"At what point will she alleviate the hardship caused?" he asked. "Will it be after a three- or four-day strike or an all-out strike? We have surely reached the point where the level of hardship is so intolerable that alternatives must be found."

Earlier, on the Order of Business, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said: "People are not able to get to life-saving appointments with their medical consultants because the transport system is not conveying them to and from hospital at present. It is that serious. People will die if this continues."

The Taoiseach said Dublin Bus drivers were on official strike in support of their 20 per cent claim. "Of course, what has exacerbated the situation today is that other workers have taken unofficial secondary action in support of the Dublin Bus workers' claim."

Mr Ahern continued: "Iarnrod Eireann's permanent staff have taken unofficial strike action, despite the fact that no ballot has been held on a Labour Court recommendation for a 20 per cent phased pay increase as part of a restructuring claim. They already have a restructuring claim, which has been put forward by the Labour Court, on which they have not bothered to vote but they have taken secondary action."

Introducing the emergency debate, Ms O'Rourke said more than 400,000 public transport users had been severely inconvenienced, something which she and the Government very much regretted.

"The proposals, tabled by both the NBRU and Dublin Bus, can provide a basis for the resumption of negotiations," she said. "The State's industrial relations machinery remains available to assist. However, it only makes sense for it to become involved when it is satisfied that a basis exists for resumed negotiations."

Ms O'Rourke said the secondary action, taken in support of the Dublin Bus claim, was not helpful. "It will do nothing to advance the resolution of the dispute." The simple message, she added, was to suspend the strike now and resume negotiations.

"There are both union and management proposals already on the table, which can form the basis for serious negotiations, provided there is a willingness to do so. If these negotiations can make real progress in addressing the basic pay aspirations of the Dublin Bus drivers, wider issues can be considered."

Mr Yates said the Minister's position was untenable. "Her position, as articulated yesterday, is that she will not intervene in the dispute, and she is opposed to introducing alternative contingency measures. If she is opposed to either of those, I can only categorise hers as a do-nothing position which has led to total paralysis."

The Labour spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Emmet Stagg, said the dispute was the worst for more than 30 years. He added that he upheld the right of members of the NBRU to take official industrial action in pursuit of their claim, but he did not believe that it was in anyone's interest for workers to take unofficial action which added to the complexity of the disputes and made settlements even more difficult.

"Some goodwill is required on both sides," he said. "A commitment by Dublin Bus to pay, as an interim increase for a further six months, the £15 which had been paid for the past four weeks, would be helpful. There is clearly a need for some sort of outside intervention to bring the parties together to prepare a productivity package, based not just on concessions by the workers, but also substantially increased investment in the company."

Ms Olivia Mitchell (FG, Dublin South) said the Minister had single-handedly brought the State to a standstill.

Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) said the low wage regime, which successive governments had used to subsidise the public transport system, had finally and inevitably blown up in the Government's face.

"The strike-breaking call this morning by IBEC that the Army and private bus operators be used to break the strike, expresses the breathtaking arrogance of the captains of industry.

"For 13 years of so-called social partnership, they have grown fat on massive profits while wage increases for low-paid workers, including transport workers, have been pegged to the absolute minimum."

Mr Trevor Sargent (Green Party, Dublin North) said it was agreed that bus drivers were poorly paid. "The public will not wear higher fares, which are already high by international comparisons, for a service that is inadequate." The alternative was to increase the subvention of £100 million, which had been declining in real terms since 1985.