Criminal wrongdoing claims at Bus Éireann

Documents containing serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing by some Bus Éireann staff as well as operators dealing with the bus company, have been forwarded to gardaí by an Oireachtas committee.

A report in a Sunday newspaper last month alleged that employees of Bus Éireann took “kickbacks” in the form of free holidays and gifts in exchange for contracts.

Last month Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, and junior ministers Alan Kelly and Ciaran Cannon, issued a statement on the matter saying “corruption is a criminal offence” and they “treat any such allegations extremely seriously”.

The Joint Committee on Transport and Communications said it had received various documents from Bus Éireann in recent weeks in relation to the issue.

“These documents contain serious allegations against individuals both within Bus Éireann and bus operators who dealt with Bus Éireann,” a spokesman said.

“The committee has taken legal advice on these documents and, on foot of that, this afternoon took the decision for the clerk to forward the documents to An Garda Siochána pursuant to its obligations under the Criminal Justice Act 2011 and other enactments.”

It said the substance of the allegations contained in the documents fell outside its remit “and could potentially involve criminal wrongdoing”.