Bus union leader launches scathing attack on Cork BusConnects plan

National Transport Authority approach is 'aloof' and those involved in Cork plan are a 'coalition of the bewildered', Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, told conference delegates

Dermot O'Leary, general secretary and Brian Hannigan, general president, at the National Bus and Rail Union conference at the Maryborough Hotel, Douglas, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

A trade union leader has launched a scathing attack on the National Transport Authority (NTA) for its handling of the €600m BusConnects Cork plan, describing those involved as “the coalition of the bewildered”.

Dermot O’Leary, the general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), described the NTA approach as “aloof” and revealed why the union — which previously clashed with the NTA over the initial BusConnects proposals in Dublin — did not get involved in the public consultation on the Cork scheme, where draft plans for 12 strategic transport corridors (STCs) have sparked controversy.