Bus Éireann set to create 200 new jobs

BUS Éireann has announced expansion plans that will create 200 new jobs, after the company has spent the last 16 months marred in financial woes.

The recruitment campaign comes with an increase of services on a number of routes across the country, which will be introduced over the next four to six months.

Regional hubs will be at the centre of the expanded networks.

In January 2017, Bus Éireann CEO Ray Hernan said that in order to survive, the company, which was then facing debts of over €9.4million, had to impose severe pay cuts across the board.

Yesterday, Mr Hernan credited an employee agreement with creating ‘progress’ for the once embattled company, adding it ‘looks forward to entering a new growth phase’.

‘Much change and progress has been delivered across Bus Éireann and Expressway, since the acceptance of a new Labour Court Agreement by staff last year,’ he said.

‘We are continuing to transform our business to deliver an enhanced experience.’

But a spokesperson for Bus Éireann told the Irish Daily Mail that the expansion is being mostly funded by the National Transport Authority and is ‘being done to cater for growing demand’.

However, questions have been raised as to how the State-owned service is footing the bill for the mass recruitment given the ‘draconian’ pay cuts it tried to introduce just last year.