The Transport and Public and Commuter Transport Ministers have warned the future is very stark if Dublin Bus drivers do not accept a final cost cutting proposal, which has been published.

It comes after a taskforce reported that the industrial relations process to secure the future of the company had been exhausted.

Dublin Bus has endorsed the independent report into the dispute with drivers over cost-saving, which states no future third-party intervention will resolve issues at the company.

Conflict between drivers and management led to three days of strike action in August with workers rejecting the restructuring measures the company says it needs to implement for its survival.

The Dublin Bus Independent Investigation Report was written by an independent team appointed by the government, ICTU and IBEC. Drivers at the semi-state company have refused to accept cost-cutting and embarked on strike action during the summer.

A fresh ballot of drivers is expected to take place over the next week.

But Ministers Leo Varadkar and Alan Kelly say that every effort has been made to reach agreement with the drivers, and that these efforts have now gone beyond the intervention of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and Labour Court hearings.

"We ask the drivers to agree to the final proposals that have been made in the interests of the company, Dublin Bus workers and the travelling public" they say, while adding "We are clear, however, that the outlook for Dublin Bus and its employees is very stark if this final effort does not succeed".

They also warn that if a strike happens, "it will be prolonged and it will be very difficult to bring to an end given that all processes have been exhausted".