The main union representing drivers at Bus Éireann says it may accept the closure of some routes.

Dermot O'Leary, General Secretary of the National Bus & Railworkers' Union (NBRU) said the union may accept some route closures after negotiations.

"There is no doubt, as part of that debate, some of those routes will come up for discussion. Will Bus Éireann be operating those routes into the future? Trade unions, because we come in the spirit of compromise, may have to accept some bitter medicine on that one," said Mr O'Leary.

However, SIPTU representative at Bus Éireann Willie Noonan said his union does not accept that any of the Bus Éireann Expressway services could be withdrawn or scaled back.

He said that route closures would mean job losses and this would not be acceptable to his members.

The Expressway service run by the company is losing money and there has been speculation that some of the service may be shut down.

Bus Éireann is expected to lose around €6m this year and much of that loss is down to money lost on Expressway services.

The company said it needs to save €6-7m next year and that will mean a "leaner structure" for Expressway services which do not receive state funding.

Bus Éireann operates Expressway on 23 routes, mainly busy intercity journeys, where there is a lot of competition from private operators.