Rural organisations have criticised Bus Éireann's changes to some Expressway services in the south and south-east of the country.
Route seven, from Cork and Dublin/Dublin Airport, will now be from Clonmel to Dublin/Dublin Airport, serving three stops, in between, including Kilkenny.
Route five, from Dublin to Waterford, will be dropped but that route four will be extended to New Ross.
Bus Éireann said the Waterford Rosslare/Europort stop can be accessed by connecting services, for example the route 40.
The company's Media & PR Manager Nicola Cooke said there is no doubt that the decisions will impact on rural communities, but said the demand is not there to sustain the business.
She said the company was sitting down with the National Transport Authority to discuss it further and to find solutions where possible.
The company said the services being reviewed are self-funded and are not related to its Public Service Obligation contract for the State.
The Irish Farmers Association said the proposals would result in many rural towns and villages left without a proper public transport service, and called on the Government to intervene.
President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, John Comer, also criticised the cuts.
"It's as if the State simply turns around to a whole community and announces 'there you go now lads, you're on your own from here onwards. People feel abandoned", he said.
Meanwhile, Active Retirement Ireland has called for Government intervention to protect the Bus Éireann services.
The group called it "another assault on rural Ireland", saying that Bus Éireann has cut almost 100 services, leaving many towns with no public transport options.
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly said the routes under review are ones where Bus Éireann is in competition with others.
The minister said the issue of transport across rural areas needs a larger task force by the National Transport Authority.
Mr Kelly said: "We need a new road map for public service obligation routes across this country.
"We also need to look at how that will link in with the rural transport programme to ensure we have connectivity across the network of both bus and rail services.
"That is a large piece of work that the National Transport of Ireland will be undertaking and that's how we're going to ensure we have connectivity across the country because rural areas are entitled to services but it is a larger picture that needs to be looked at."
