Commuters face New Year disruption to their travel plans after transport workers renewed their threat of industrial action over the Minister for Transport's plans to break up CIÉ.
National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) representatives will meet tomorrow to discuss renewing the strike action that was deferred last August.
The union said its action followed a number of public comments made by Mr Brennan, since December 19th, where he said he would press ahead with the break up of the State transport company.
Mr Liam Tobin, general secretary of the NBRU, told ireland.com his members were "incensed with anger" over the Minister's statements that he planned to ask the chairman of CIÉ to step down and that he would not reappoint the directors of the group.
Mr Tobin said the union had been given reassurances on a number of occasions by the Department of Transport that nothing would proceed until the talks process with unions was completed.
Around 4,000 transport workers are members of the NBRU; others are members of SIPTU and the ATGWU.
Mr Tobin said the previous ballot in favour of industrial action, which would affect bus and rail services throughout the country, still stands. An emergency meeting of the NBRU's national executive committee will be held tomorrow morning to decide what action is to be taken.
A spokesman for the minister said: "As a minister and a public representative, Mr Brennan was under almost daily questioning as regards his policies and he reserves the right as his prerogative to outline these policies when asked to do so as the public are fully entitled to know.
"The minister is strongly of the view that he does not have to take a vow of silence on issues that the public is entitled to know the updates on. Obviously both sides are fully entitled to lay out policy
positions whenever asked to do so and the minister has no difficulty with that. The fact that there are clear differences over these policies is widely known.
"However, all involved should be big enough to rise above these differences and engage in meaningful negotiations to bring the situation forward with some urgency. Minister said he remains fully committed to discussions with the unions about how these policies affect their members and the pace and manner of their implementation."
The spokesman said the minister is pursuing his policies in order to open the public transport
market so that public and private companies can operate services side by side. This would result in more choice for consumers, increased efficiency in services, better customer relations and greater transparency for the millions of taxpayers money that is provided as a subsidy every year, he said.
"The public transport system is operating under a 1932 piece of legislation and this urgently needs reform and modernisation so that it reflects the needs of the transport system and the travelling public in the 21st century."