Proposed radical reforms of public transport announced by the Minster for Foreign Affairs, Mr Brennan today, have met with mixed reaction today with unions warning of industrial action.
The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) welcomed the news but Labour said the reforms would make no short-term difference to provision or waiting times and little difference in the long term.
"This is truly a case of shuffling the deck-chairs as the Titanic heads for the iceberg," Labour transport spokesperson, Ms Roisin Shortall said.
She also criticised the Minister's decision to gratn CIE the right to raise fares. Ms Shortall said: "At a time when so many urban areas are grinding to a halt and when the absolute priority should be to encourage the greater use of public transport, it would be an act of folly to increase fares."
Unions have also expressed concern, with National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) general secretary Mr Tony Tobin predicting Britain's bad experience with bringing competition into public transport services would be replicated here.
"How can you put a private operator onto the streets of Dublin into the same gridlock traffic and he would do a better job than a Dublin Bus driver?" Mr Tobin asked on RTE radio.
He said Dublin Bus was profitable and was one of the most efficient operators in Europe. He also said his union would walk out from the Public Transport Forum and warned industrial action would inevitably follow.
But the CCI described the package as "a significant step in the right direction". CCI chief executive, Mr John Dunne said the proposals should be a first step to more extensive deregulation of the industry.
"Reform of public transport has been long awaited and is desperately needed.
"The ultimate beneficiaries of these reforms will be the travelling public who have for too long had to suffer poor services or indeed no services at all," he said.