The Taoiseach has described the finances of Bus Éireann as being in a "perilous" state, and has urged the company’s management and unions to negotiate a settlement quickly to the current dispute.
He has also dismissed rumours that the Government might plan to remove the Free Travel Scheme, which only covers around 40% of each passenger journey.
Enda Kenny was responding to questions from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in the Dáil.
Mr Adams expressed concerns that a Bus Éireann survival plan for the loss-making company, which includes cuts in pay, conditions and possible redundancies, would trigger an unacceptable race to the bottom.
He said there was no evidence for the Government claim that rural areas were a top priority, given the closure of post offices, garda stations and other local services.
Mr Adams said it appeared Government policy was that if you live in rural Ireland without a car or cannot drive, you have to stay where you are and cannot have access to work, study, healthcare or a social life.
He called for a full review of Expressway and of loss-making routes, as well as of licences issued for routes.
He also called for urgent negotiations of all stakeholders including the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
This evening SIPTU urged Bus Éireann to withdraw their agenda of cuts which the union described as an unacceptable precondition to talks.
The Taoiseach also told the Dáil that Bus Éireann is in serious financial difficulties.He said a major contribution to this was Expressway, saying the commercial sector service had been struggling for years against new market entrants, and that its difficulties required a commercial response.
He warned that not only was Bus Éireann depleting its reserves, but without action it could encounter serious solvency issues.
He dismissed what he called "rumours" that the Government might take away the Free Travel Scheme, saying nothing could be further from the truth.
He also reiterated that if Bus Éireann had to reschedule some Expressway services, the National Transport Authority would take up the option of providing essential services for rural Ireland.
Mr Adams said the Taoiseach had not given a commitment to a public bus system.
He said that after more than half a decade of under-investment, the transport system was in a permanent state of crisis, between the Luas, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and a review of rail services.
He also noted that while the Taoiseach said difficulties could only be resolved by everyone sitting down around the table, it was Minister for Transport Shane Ross who was refusing to sit at that table.
Ross says he will not get involved in dispute
Minister for Transport Shane Ross has again insisted that he will not get involved in the Bus Éireann dispute.
Speaking at the Oireachtas Transport Committee, he said it is not up to him to get involved in the "nitty gritty" of industrial disputes, saying that is what the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court are for.
Minister Ross accused both sides in the dispute of "not producing any reasons for not talking" despite both saying they will talk without conditions. Mr Ross asked: "So where are they?"
The only reason he would be wanted at the talks, he said, is that he would "come in with my cheque book", but he said that is not his role as minister.
There is no suggestion of free travel being taken away from anyone, according to the minister.
Anyone suggesting otherwise is being mischievous or misunderstanding the situation, he added.
Mr Ross also said he did not underestimate the challenge currently facing Bus Éireann.
He said the taxpayer recognised the importance of Bus Éireann, which is why just over €40 million was granted to the company last year "to provide those socially necessary but commercially unviable PSO services".
The minister said the recently confirmed PSO out-turn for 2016 meant that last year Bus Éireann received 21% more in taxpayer funding for PSO services than the year before.
"This year I secured 11% additional funding for overall public transport services, which will see Bus Éireann benefit from even more taxpayer funding in 2017", he said.
Echoing his speech in the Dáil last night, the minister said the National Transport Authority can and will step into any area of rural Ireland and assess what public transport services are required and what is the best method to provide them.
"The NTA will ensure that there is no negative impact on the connectivity of rural communities", he said.
In addition to its vast PSO network according to Minister Ross, Bus Éireann also operates commercial services under its Expressway brand.
Mr Ross said those services lose money and if a company wishes to operate a commercial service, then that service must make commercial sense.
'Difficult decisions will have to be made', cttee told
This afternoon, Bus Éireann warned that it would be reckless and irresponsible not to implement cost reduction proposals to avoid the risk of insolvency and safeguard the maximum number of viable jobs.
Addressing the Oireachtas committee for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Acting CEO Ray Hernan said the company's 2016 losses could be as high as €9 million, and that with the resultant depletion of reserves, the company could be insolvent by the end of the year.
He said Bus Éireann can no longer carry financial losses on an ongoing basis, and difficult decisions will have to be made in 2017 to ensure that the company survives.
Mr Hernan has previously estimated that the cuts would reduce staff pay by around 10% - though unions estimate the reduction at around 30%.
Bus Éireann union representatives will meet tomorrow to decide their next move in the row.
The General Secretary of the NBRU has said it is encouraging to hear that there may be increased funding for free travel, which was an underfunded scheme.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Dermot O'Leary pointed out that of seven million Expressway journeys, one third of them were free travel.
He said that the union will not be found wanting in efforts to reach a resolution to the ongoing crisis at Bus Éireann.
Mr O'Leary said nothing could be resolved unless all stakeholders got involved. He added that the union would not discuss any proposals with preconditions such as pay cuts.
The tax payer owned the company, he said, and they deserved a decent service.
