Union rep accuses Dublin Bus of ‘dragging their heels’ when it comes to reaching solution

A BUS union representative has accused Dublin Bus of “dragging their heels” when it comes to reaching a solution to the continued curtailment of bus routes in West Tallaght.

At a well-attended Dublin Bus/Luas Community Forum last Friday, a member of Dublin Bus senior management confirmed that a meeting would take place the following week with union reps.

However, that meeting, which was due to be held on Monday, never came to pass, according to National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) official Sean Yeates.

Mr Yeates told The Echo: “What it’s down to now is an internal discussion that was supposed to take place between the unions and Dublin Bus on Monday.

“What we have to do is have the principals of the trade unions and senior management from Dublin Bus sit around a table, but Dublin Bus seem to be dragging their heels.

“Dublin Bus made a promise at the meeting on Friday that they would meet with the unions on Monday, but that hasn’t happened.

“We’re available to meet with Dublin Bus any time to discuss the finer points of getting the service back up and running, but the ball firmly rests in Dublin Bus’s court.”

Mr Yeates has acknowledged the community has “done its bit” to deal with the issues of anti-social behaviour that have led to the curtailments.

However, he said there have already been more than a dozen instances of anti-social behaviour on bus routes in Tallaght so far this month, including stone throwing and doors being interfered with.

The unions want to meet with Dublin Bus to discuss changing the protocols around curtailments and exploring the possibility of having security personnel on Dublin Bus routes.

“The protocol that we have for curtailments after anti-social behaviour is archaic and not fit for purpose,” Mr Yeates said.

“If there’s an incident in Jobstown, then buses are curtailed out of all of Jobstown. We have a few good ideas about changing the protocol, but it involves having a meeting with Dublin Bus.

“A meeting should’ve taken place on Monday, but there was no communication from Dublin Bus about it.

“There’s still been in excess of 14 or 15 instances of anti-social behaviour in February alone. We need to sit down with Dublin Bus and get some kind of movement on this.”

The Echo contacted Dublin Bus for comment, but a response wasn’t received at the time of going to print.