As the only body with a statutory obligation to provide integrated public transport, including loss-making social and economic services, CIÉ and its wholly owned subsidiaries became the focus of government investment in the public transport sector.
À titre subsidiaire, l'Irlande fait valoir que les versements en question satisfont aux quatre critères Altmark et ne confèrent aucun avantage économique à Bus Éireann ni à Dublin Bus.