CIE requests for public transport fares increases of up to 12 per cent will be decided "shortly" by the Minister for Public Enterprise.

Ms O'Rourke told the Dail yesterday that there had been no general round of fares increases for CIE since 1991. She was responding to questions about fares increases and their link to public service or performance-related contracts by the CIE companies.

Ms O'Rourke had met the CIE unions and they had urged her to approve an increase, as did the chairman of CIE.

Fine Gael's Public Enterprise spokesman, Mr Ivan Yates, called on the Minister to keep the fares increase to a single-digit percentage increase, given the "overriding policy objective" of encouraging commuters to move on to public transport. Ms O'Rourke said she would consider his suggestion to keep the fares increases below 10 per cent and said the proposed increases for the three CIE companies varied according to the fares, ranging up to 12 per cent.

"There is no standard increase," she said.

Mr Yates said he had suggested that the fares increase was postponed until after the local elections, but had been told by a Department spokesman that the deferral was solely connected to public service contracts and the two - the fares increases and the contracts - were being dealt with together.

"Is that correct or was it merely a cynical device to wait until after June 11th before lashing the increase on to the long-suffering commuter?" he asked.

Ms O'Rourke said: "There was no cynical device to lash anything to anyone."

She said the Bus Atha Cliath contract was almost ready. It included such measures as the company providing all services within its timetable and the State's subvention was linked to the operation of those buses at peak times on weekdays.

Mr Yates pointed out that public transport received the lowest subvention from Government of any capital in Europe, and suggested increasing the subvention rather than a fares increase.

Labour's Transport spokesman, Mr Emmet Stagg, said that in some cases Irish public transport subventions were five times less per passenger than other EU cities. He added that the Minister's comment that she would "shortly" make a decision on the fares increases was exactly the same reply she gave in a December reply. He also urged a greater subvention rather than a fares increase.

The Minister said that for the first time, Dublin Bus had 150 new buses which it did not have to provide from its own revenue, and that was equal to a large subvention.

Ms O'Rourke said however that she would be surprised by any utility which would not increase its fares for eight years. For the most part, taxpayers' money would pay for the 150 buses with some input from EU funds. She pointed out that in the eight years in which there were no fares increases, workers had received wage increases on a yearly basis, "as is only proper".

Ms Olivia Mitchell (FG, Dublin South) called for an examination of whether providing extra buses would incur losses for the transport companies. One of the reasons Dublin Bus had given for not providing additional buses related to the losses generated.

"Public service contracts should be made available in order that we would be aware of what companies make losses and the extent of the subsidy required for the provision of public transport."

The Minister agreed that the public service contracts should be available so that they would be better aware of what services were required.