Irish Rail strike will discommode thousands of GAA fans and damage business – O’Mahony

Fine Gael TD for Mayo and Chairperson of the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee, John O’Mahony has, today (Tuesday), appealed to Irish Rail employees to defer planned industrial action as it will seriously discommode thousands of GAA supporters as well as hundreds of tourists, and it will ultimately damage business.

“I am calling on Irish Rail employees to reconsider their position and to defer the planned industrial action. The first day of the strike is scheduled for 24^th of August which is the day of the first All-Ireland football semi-final. Thousands of Mayo and Kerry fans are relying on the train to make the journey to Dublin so they can support their team in Croke Park.

“This year Irish Rail has seen a 2.7% increase in journeys made; there were 18.3 million journeys in the first six months of this year as opposed to 17.8 million last year. This is extremely positive for the company and for the employees, but in order for this growth to continue, the public must view the service as reliable.

“As part of the agreement put forward by Irish Rail, a promise has been made that pay will be restored in 28 months, if the company continues to grow in this way.

“Business is better for Irish Rail this year because the economy is improving, but the reality of the situation is that they still incurred a loss of €147 million in the past six years, which is simply unsustainable.

“Changes need to be made and I would ask Irish Rail workers to consider the implications of their planned action. Strikes at this time will damage the public image of the company, they will encourage people to consider alternative forms of transport and it will ultimately negatively impact the business. This will distance workers from a solution and will do nothing to protect jobs at Irish Rail.”