CIÉ assets: sale of companies recommended

BUS ÉIREANN’S inter-county bus service, CIÉ’s luxury coach tours and Rosslare Europort should all be sold, the report of the Review Group on State Assets has said.

The report noted that with significant falls in passenger numbers and a corresponding drop in revenues, “the group as a whole faces very serious financial and operational challenges”.

It states that while CIÉ’s companies have already sought to reduce overheads through redundancies and cost efficiencies, with the availability of much less financial support from the State, their sale is to be recommended.

While the document notes that services such as CIÉ Tours International and Airlink airport service are profitable, they provide only a “relatively modest contribution to group finances in the context of overall financial challenges”.

Noting that the group received €3 billion in capital grants between 2002 and 2009 and incurred operating losses of €371 million in 2009, the report suggests Government policy should seek to limit the level of public subsidy in the area and recommends that capital to be invested in further transport projects should be “severely constrained”.

The report also recommends the privatisation of all or part of Dublin Bus.

However, it states this should happen only after the Government has decided on a competition model for the capital’s bus market.