Bus Éireann funding crisis a symptom of deliberate government policy says Tynan

The continuing financial crisis at Bus Éireann is a direct result of government policy of cutting subvention to the state transport company according to Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan.

The Cork based councillor said that the government was ramping up attacks on Bus Éireann and other state companies with a view to turning public opinion against them while the real agenda is to turn these companies over to the private sector at a knock-down price.

He said that a claim by Minister Shane Ross that Bus Éireann could become insolvent is part of an agenda to undermine public confidence in the state transport sector.

“Bus Éireann is only in economic difficulty because the government wishes it to be in that position”, said Cllr. Tynan. “Minister Shane Ross is well known for his opposition to publicly owned enterprises and he is the greatest threat to Bus Éireann and its sister companies in the CIE group right now.  His predecessor in that department Pascal Donohue shares an aversion to state companies and continues to push the privatisation agenda at government at every opportunity”, added the Workers’ Party councillor.

“There are no losses at Bus Éireann, but rather successive massive cuts in the essential public subvention.  Public transport is not just a mere business, it is an essential part of a functioning state and in almost every European country it is expected to require state subvention to ensure it provides adequate services to all areas, including those that will by nature be loss making.   Minister Ross would rather that Bus Éireann be privatised and such services be axed.  That is what will inevitably happen if the company is privatised”, said Cllr. Tynan.

He concluded by stating that the government had a second agenda which was the destruction of public sector trade unions and the trade union movement in general. “Government propaganda is aimed towards turning public opinion against workers and portraying them as the cause of the problems at the CIE group when in fact these difficulties are a direct result of government transport policy.”