In a statement released today Bus Éireann said "Management today presented the Board of Bus Éireann with a plan which will secure the future of the company.

The chief commercial officer at Bus Éireann previously said that they have ruled out appointing a receiver to the semi-state company, if strike action continues.

They continued saying "A key component of the plan, however is the achievement of cost efficiencies with employees to eliminate grossly inefficient work practices, which have been acknowledged by the unions during discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission.

"The Board remain gravely concerned that losses continue to accelerate at Bus Éireann, exacerbated now by four days of strike action.

"Other measures"

"Regrettably, today the Board could not sign off accounts for 2016, or pass a budget for 2017 in the absence of agreement with staff.

"This is a very serious matter as the Board must now formally advise CIÉ that this governance requirement will not be met.

"Without a plan which encompasses the necessary work practice changes to generate savings, it will not be possible to fund a voluntary redundancy scheme and faced with that scenario, the Board of Directors will have no option but to consider other measures to prevent the business becoming insolvent.

The statement concluded with "The Board requests all employees to urgently engage with management through their representatives to agree a survival plan to prevent insolvency and provide a viable future for Bus Éireann."