Two unions have said they accept assurances from the Minister for Transport that he did not provide figures cited in a media report today that suggested up to 600 jobs at CIÉ could be lost within a year under a plan that would privatise 50 bus routes.
In a statement, the National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) and SIPTU said they had received a letter from the Minister, Mr Brennan, in which he said neither he nor his press office had provided any of the numbers quoted in a newspaper article.
The report came less than 24 hours after the unions said they had "reluctantly" agreed to accept an invitation to meet the Minister and to seek a way out of the current "impasse" over the restructuring of CIÉ .
The unions said this morning's report had caused "major consternation among company employees".
"Earlier today the unions sought immediate clarifications from the Minister and made it clear that if the report reflected accurately the Minister's position then talks would not be possible and they would be reactivating the industrial action mandates of their members," the statement continued.
The unions said they had made their own enquiries about the report and they were satisfied that the Minister's statement "reflected the true situation".
Representatives of the NBRU met in emergency session earlier this week to discuss comments made by Mr Brennan in a number of recent media interviews. Mr Brennan had reiterated his plan to break up CIÉ and to shake up the public transport market.