Bus, tram and rail passengers could be hit with higher fares to help bail out public transport companies. The CIE has sought permission from the National Transport Authority to raise fares in 2014.

Last year fares were hiked twice. A decision will not be made by the NTA until later this year.

CIE says it would not speculate on possible hikes ahead of any decision.

The company published its annual report in May which showed journeys across Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail fell to 229 million last year. That is down by almost 3.5 million on 2011.

CIE suffered a deficit of over €43 million which was offset by pension adjustments and a one-off subvention of over €36 million.

Barry Kenny from CIE says funding has been reduced at the company and it needs to raise fares in order to maintain services. He told Breakfast here on Newstalk that passengers will know about the changes in advance.