[Article] CIE chairman asked to quit key posts

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-879023535-pageUrl--2FThe-Newspaper-2FSundays-Paper-2FNews.asp

CIE chairman asked to quit key posts
28/12/03 00:00
By Niamh Connolly

The chairman of CIE, John Lynch, will be asked to step down from two of the three transport companies he chairs, under a radical plan to break up the transport organisation in the new year.

Iarnrod Éireann, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann are to be established as three competing companies under the CIE Companies Bill. The legislation is being prepared for cabinet. Lynch will continue to head one of the transport companies, and is expected to choose chairmanship of Iarnrod Éireann.

"When the legislation is passed in the new year, there will be a new chairman of each of the companies," the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, told this newspaper.

The transport minister has already begun to unravel the directorship of CIE.

He declined to re-appoint four CIE board directors whose terms have lapsed, before the passage of the new legislation. They are Tras Honan, whose term ended on November 27, and Paul Kiely, David Egan and Gerry Duggan, whose terms ended on De-cember 8.

"I have informed the chairman that it is my intention to start the process of unravelling the separation when vacancies come up on the boards of CIE," Brennan said.

The CIE Companies Bill will prevent directors from sitting on more than one board.

The minister for transport will appoint the new board members next year, after holding discussions with the directors as to their preferred board.

"All board positions will end when the legislation is through," he said, "and it will fall to the minister to have these boards fully re-appointed at that stage.

Nobody - not even the chairman - will be appointed as a common director."

Lynch presides over all three transport entities, while a number of directors sit on more than one board.

One worker director sits on all boards.

Brennan has been reassured by the Attorney General that "letters of comfort" given in relation to future employment with the CIE holding company pose no obstacle to the division of the transport group.

The letters provide for employees toreturntothe CIE holding company in the event of the closure of one of the transport companies.

However, in this case, the parent company itself is being dissolved. IarnrodÉireann, which receives a government subvention of €4 million per week, is concerned that the break-up is part of a government plan to increase efficiencies and instil consumerdriven competition between the three transport companies.

In a separate development, Brennan conceded that the break-up of Aer Rianta was proving more complex than envisaged.

However, he stressed that the legislation to go before the Dáil in February, would provide substantial protections for workers.

The minister insisted that competition between the various transport companies would boost growth and employment prospects.

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/2296688?view=Eircomnet

Union warns of action over CIE break-up plan
From:ireland.com
Sunday, 4th January, 2004

Industrial action on buses and trains could go ahead within two weeks as part of union opposition to plans by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to break up CIE and privatise routes.

In a statement today the National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) said its national executive will meet on Tuesday to discuss the progression of Mr Brennan's plans "while talks are still in progress between his officials and the CIE unions".

The union said it expects to reinstate its campaign of action deferred last summer at the request of the department.

Mr Liam Tobin, NBRU general secretary today accused Mr Brennan of a "shameless act of treachery" in proceeding with the talks while also progressing his plans to break-up the company.

"I think at this stage the talks' process has lost all credibility and integrity and we will be looking at the reinstitution of the Campaign of Action, which began with the 'No Fares Day' last July."

Capt'n Midnight

Yeah someone was telling me that on one of the buses recently the Driver pulled in and apologised to everyone about the strike comming up. The big concen was Privitisation....