Two of the three CIÉ companies are expected to announce a combined deficit for 2002 of more than 34 million today.

Irish Rail and Bus Éireann will report the deficits, while Dublin Bus will announce a profit, after subvention or State aid, of €3.4 million.

The figures will be released as the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, addresses an Oireachtas committee on the future of the three companies.

Irish Rail is expected to announce a deficit of 25 million, while Bus Éireann will announce a deficit of 9.4 million. Both figures allow for large Government subventions.

The results are expected to show subventions for all three companies increasing.

The subvention for Dublin Bus was 56 million, up from 52 million in 2001, while the subvention for Irish Rail was 155 million, up from 146 million in 2001. In the case of Irish Rail there was also a separate subvention of 20 million for rail safety. Mr Brennan may cite the high level of subvention as one reason for restructuring the public transport sector.

Bus Éireann received about 21 million in 2002, which was down from 23 million in 2001. However, it was recently awarded a price rise.

CIÉ in its annual report is expected to highlight the damage traffic congestion is having on its bottom line. It will also emphasise that while Government spending on public transport has increased, it is still far behind that of other European countries.

If Mr Brennan proceeds with plans to break up the CIÉ parent company, these could be its last consolidated results. Mr Brennan does not see any purpose in the CIÉ holding company and he has made it clear that property assets held by CIÉ should be transferred to the constituent companies.

However, his plans are being fiercely resisted by the unions, which are planning a "no fares" day on July 18th and strike action later as part of their opposition.

The local unions such as SIPTU and the NBRU are the strongest in their opposition, but the general secretary of the ICTU Mr David Begg has also expressed concern about tensions in the public transport area.

The unions and management at the company claim Mr Brennan's plans could cost up to 500 million. One of the biggest costs they point to is the debt of the CIÉ companies, particularly Irish Rail.

According to the unions, Irish Rail's debt, which approaches €250 million, would have to be paid off by the Government if the break-up plan went ahead. However, the figures are strongly contested by Mr Brennan.

The unions also claim that transferring property assets held by the CIÉ parent company could take years because there are over 1,000 legal deeds involved. Again this is disputed by Mr Brennan.

Unless talks resume shortly, industrial action is expected. However, according to sources, unions could be facing legal problems if they strike. While they are entitled to serve strike notice, it is less clear if they are entitled to strike because of actions taken by another indirect party, in this case the Minister.