EU probes State cash to Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus

BUS Éireann and Dublin Bus could be forced to repay millions of euro they have received from the State if a European Commission probe launched yesterday finds the aid was illegal.

They also stand to lose their multimillion share of the €34.4 billion the Government is spending upgrading the country’s transport infrastructure up to 2016.

This year the two companies received more than €125.5 million to cover the provision of services to remote and poor areas of the country, to buy 160 coaches and to cover the cost of new and updated garages, depots and stations.

The commission said compensation paid to Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus for providing urban, suburban and regional bus transport services may be illegal under State aid rules. It said grants for upgrading bus stations, garages and maintenance facilities may be illegal as they are not available on an equal basis to all bus operators.

It wants further information on a number of issues, including training subsidies paid to the two companies.

A complaint was made by the Irish Coach Tourism and Transport Council representing private operators. It said Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus is using taxpayers’ money to provide unfair competition and put them out of business.

Head of the council Cora Collins said she put together the complaint after her family’s company in Monaghan was almost put out of business by Bus Éireann.

With borrowings of about €1m for new coaches, her firm launched a twice-daily bus service from Carrickmacross to Dublin in 1998. Soon afterwards, Bus Éireann put on two services at about the same times of day and at half the fare Collins Coaches were charging.

Bus Éireann is only supposed to compete with a private operator with the consent of the Transport Minister, but Ms Collins said it took her three years to get the minister to address the issue.

“We had to use our own money and sell off buses to survive. I know other private operators are suffering in the same way from unfair competition funded by Irish taxpayers’ money,” she said.

The commission said it will ask the Government to submit its comments and provide all information necessary for the commission to conduct its investigation and wants to hear from all other interested parties also.

Bus Éireann and the Department of Transport said they were waiting to receive a detailed submission from the European Commission, which they will consider carefully.