Varadkar warns against rejection of Dublin Bus proposals

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has warned there will be "nowhere else to go" in the event of a rejection by Dublin Bus workers of proposals to resolve the ongoing dispute over cost-savings at the company.

Speaking this morning, Mr Varadkar said the intervention by former trade union official Noel Dowling and management consultant Ultan Courtney "really is the last intervention possible".

"There really is really nowhere else to go after this," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

The dispute led to a three-day work stoppage at Dublin Bus in August.

Siptu, which represents roughly half of the drivers in the company, said this week it would discuss the proposals with Mr Dowling and Mr Courtney. The union isa due to ballot its members on the proposals next week.

A statement issued yesterday by Minister Varadkar and Minister of State Alan Kelly warned of the seriousness of the situation facing Dublin Bus.

“We are clear, however, that the outlook for Dublin Bus and its employees is very stark if this final effort does not succeed,” they said in the statement.

While saying they were “hopeful” of a resolution, the ministers warned “if Mr Dowling and Mr Courtney’s recommendations are not accepted, no realistic alternatives exist.”

“Unfortunately, more than a year’s negotiation, through all of the industrial relations machinery of the State, has identified no other solution to the financial challenges facing the company.”