DISCUSSION OF RAILWAY station closures have been described as “totally premature” by Iarnród Éireann.

This comes amid reports of imminent closures across the country of stations catering to less than 100 journeys a day.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann Barry Kenny said:

What we are doing at the moment with the NTA (National Transport Authority) is looking at the Public Service Obligation funding and the services that we operate in terms of trying to address our financial situation. It is totally premature to talk about any specific actions being taken.

There is currently a review of services underway. The review is looking at cuts across a number of areas for the service. So far, 40% has been made in non-payroll savings and cuts to staff earnings are set to take place this Sunday.

It is thought that Irish Rail services are currently suffering from a €60 million funding gap.

The review is being carried out in anticipation of Budget 2015 and is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

In a report released in June of this year by the NTA, it was shown that the total number of passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann had fallen by around 1.5 million in the three years between 2010 and 2013. Passenger numbers have stayed fairly static over the past year.

Last Friday, a report published by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe described the rail network as being unsustainable and pointed to a failure in the “modal shift”, a plan to get people onto public transportation.

This comes before industrial action by rail workers over proposed pay cuts.

Iarnród Éireann workers are set for a series of five strike days, starting this Sunday. The proposed industrial action comes from workers union SIPTU over what would be a 1.7% cut for staff earning €56,000 or less (74% of the workforce) and up to 6.1% for those earning over €100,000.

Prior to industrial action being taken, Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive David Franks wrote to workers saying:

I would again urge all colleagues and our trade unions  not to undertake any action which disrupts services, worsens our financial situation, and puts all our employment at risk.

The proposed cuts by the organisation were accepted by TSSA, TEEU and Unite trade unions. They were rejected by SIPTU and the NBRU.

Speaking about the upcoming strikes, Barry Kenny said:

At this point in time, all indications are the unions will go ahead with them. It is totally counter productive. they know we are facing insolvency. All it will do is worsen this financial situation.

A wider review of transport services is currently underway, including a look at the pricing of buses, trams and taxis.

Related: Efforts to get people out of cars and onto public transport aren’t working

Also: The Dublin-Belfast railway line is getting a giant facelift