Government needs to agree an effective transport model
On Tuesday last the Irish Examiner reported on interviews it had with people in a number of affected locations in the south of the country.
In Cork, businesses are reporting a loss in trade of between 30% and 50% with employees potentially having to work reduced hours. There is a genuine fear shoppers will be driven from the city centre to the suburban shopping malls. This is a process already happening as even without the strike it was getting harder and harder to go into the city and park with exorbitant parking charges, one-way systems and bicycle lanes that appear to seldom see any business.
In Waterford, it’s a similar story. Tourism, not just current but future, seems to be a problem for that location with a current particular impact on hotels, cafes, pubs and restaurants.
Kerry’s issues are also mainly focused on tourism, particularly with Easter just around the corner. However, there was also mention of the impact on students going to Tralee for classes at the Institute of Technology. Also mentioned was the impact on folk returning home on holidays, visiting family and even access from Farranfore airport.
Limerick traders noted a 25% loss in trade and a drop in tourism but noted the big rugby match last weekend helped to redress some of the problem. Undoubtedly, these problems could be reiterated over and over throughout rural Ireland and other locations across the country.
On top of that is the inconvenience to tens of thousands of commuters. An escalation of this action is now being threatened with the unions suggesting the school bus service could be impacted from next week onwards.
Some of us will remember the bad old days when such strikes were the order of the day. Today folk are more independent and as a result less impacted as a result and the strike is inconvenient at worst. The simple bottom line is several of our so-called ‘commercial’ semi state entities have been managed and allowed run on the basis their existence is eternal, that the winds of change will never impact on them and that irrespective of their working practices things will remain as they are.
Shane Ross is being castigated for his alleged inaction. His view is very simple and possibly even simplistic. If he intervenes he will be repeating the actions of all of his predecessors who effectively placated the striking workers and their unions and thus kicked the can up the street. Let’s never forget even the longest street in the world has an end.
However, that does not make Transport Minister Shane Ross totally correct in his actions. The airline business is now being run purely on a commercial basis and the world has not come to an end. Telecommunications is now being provided by private companies in competition with one another and maybe it’s not as we would like it to be but there’s a very strong likelihood it’s better than it would be under a government entity.
There’s an awful lot wrong with CIE and its subsidiaries that needs to be put right. A public national transport system is imperative given the fact population density in many parts of Ireland is very low. However, that does not mean unions or workers or others should be allowed to hold the country to ransom.
It’s high time that Government decided what exactly our national transport infrastructure should be and structure it accordingly.
If our politicians do not see the logic of this then perhaps we should be deducting the €2,700 rather than giving them more.
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