Fermanagh commuters travelling south of the border have been forced to make alternative travel plans as Bus Eireann staff continue to engage in an “all-out indefinite” strike. 

Those using the Number 30 bus from Donegal to Dublin, via Belleek, Enniskillen and Derrylin, have faced severe disruption as staff protest at cost saving measures as the company looks to claw back €12 million. 

Enniskillen woman Julia Campbell was one of those affected after finding herself stuck at Dublin Airport due to the bus strike on Sunday night. 

She told the Herald: “I had to get my neighbour to mind the kids so that my husband could come and get me. We did not get home till 5:30am. I understand the drivers right to strike but the driver who sold me a return ticket could have told me about the possibility of industrial action. Both my husband and I work in the public sector and I can tell you neither of us would have put our clients in this position. Both of us had to be up for work on Monday morning. There was no back up plan and the only notice available was an A4 sheet in a polly pocket stuck to the side of the stand. It was not nice to find myself standing outside Dublin Airport in the middle of the night.”

The bus strike misery of the past two weeks looks set to continue even if the sides go into talks aimed at resolving the dispute later this week. 

Bus Eireann workers have now lost two weeks pay as a result of the all-out strike, while the company is losing around €500,000 for every day it continues.

A Bus Eireann spokeswoman said the company is available for time-limited talks on savings and changes to work practices.

“It is critical, for both the solvency of the business and to secure a viable future, that these changes are implemented. Management and the board want to see a resolution, but are responsible for ensuring that the business can survive,” she said.