Talks to end the Dublin Bus dispute almost came to grief over the menu - or rather lack of one - for the negotiations. After two days in the spartan surroundings of the Labour Relations Commission, where the only refreshment facility is a drinks machine, the union delegations declared they were no longer prepared to starve.
The LRC chief executive, Kieran Mulvey, told them he was not running a hotel. SIPTU's Noel Dowling retorted that he wasn't running much of a conciliation service either. Before things got out of hand, someone suggested that CIE provide refreshments. Contact was made with Heuston Station and early on Sunday morning a consignment of sandwiches arrived. They were so stale nobody would eat them.
In desperation, CIE sent out for a job-lot of fast food from McDonalds. This caused even more angst, as the negotiators had been discussing health and safety issues, including the cholesterol-high diet of many bus drivers. One NBRU shop steward stormed out of the meeting, pausing to tell the waiting hacks he was going home for his first proper meal in three days.