Updated 6.20pm

UNIONS HAVE EXPRESSED anger at Bus Éireann management amid concerns about the company’s finances.

Union representatives and management attended a Labour Court sitting this evening to address a pay claim of up to 21%, but management would not look at the pay claim separately from other cost reduction measures.

Earlier Transport Minister Shane Ross said the state of the semi-state company’s finances was “fairly bleak”.

Union sources told TheJournal.ie they are “dismayed, shocked and angry” at Bus Éireann, accusing management of “thumbing their nose” at both the court and workers.

Speaking in Dublin earlier, Ross said he met the heads of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and Bus Éireann yesterday to discuss the company’s ”critical” financial situation.

It’s believed the company could be insolvent within two years.

NBRU General Secretary Dermot O’Leary said everyone involved in the dispute needed to engage, including the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority.

“That’s the only way to solve the problem. No resolution can be found unless all those involved engage.”

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Losses

Bus Éireann had losses of €5.6 million last year.

The Expressway service – over 30 routes that link every major town and city in the country – is also a problem, losing millions a year.

With reporting by Christina Finn and Paul Hosford