With Luas at a standstill, it’s time to discuss future of public transport

This dispute is a rearguard reaction of threatened but still powerful vested interests, writes Gerard Howlin.

AS I WRITE, talks continued yesterday at the Workplace Relations Commission to avert a Luas drivers’ strike tomorrow, St Patrick’s Day. It’s all hands on deck to ensure people get where they need to be. More strikes are planned on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and on April 2, 3, 23, and 24.

There are worse things than a strike, however, including a flawed settlement. The bigger issue is not how to get from A to B, but how we are going to deliver investment in public transport over the next decade.