Railways at a standstill - Time to get real

The rail unions that caused such disruption yesterday, and were expected to do so again today, should not over-estimate the support the public might offer for their position.

Talks on the cost-saving measures, despite two years of efforts, have not been successful and the two largest unions involved — Siptu and the NBRU — have gone on strike despite the fact that other unions involved have accepted the proposals.

Iarnród Éireann has suffered a reduction in annual income of over €108m or 38% in recent years — €72.3m in public service obligation payments and €35.2m in revenue. Against this background a temporary pay cut of 1.7% hardly seems an impossible or dramatic imposition.