Mr. Ray Hernan:

No. I am sorry but I must say that, as CEO of Bus Éireann and previously of other organisations, my immediate relationship is with my staff. They are my No. 1 point of contact. They are the people who must provide the service. I have given a commitment to all of them that I will continue to engage with them before I engage with anyone else. Of course the staff have entitlements in terms of representation. There are ten unions within the Bus Éireann company, all of which have been contacted.

I tried to lay out as clearly as I could the facts and the challenges that we faced. I did so as well with the unions subsequently. Unfortunately, I am looking for the unions to take a responsible stance in terms of the leadership and representation of their staff and to come to the table urgently so that we can agree a plan for implementation. I cannot implement this plan without the support of the staff and the unions. I do not have that at this time. The longer trying to achieve an agreement goes on, the more precarious our financial position becomes.