No school transport for ‘significant number’ of families in Dundalk
Ruairí Ó Murchú TD has said that he is working with more than a dozen families who have been told that they do not qualify for Bus Éireann school transport
A ‘significant number’ of families in Dundalk have no school transport for their children who have been enrolled in Bush Post Primary School this term, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.
The Sinn Féin TD said he is currently working with more than a dozen families who have been told that they do not qualify for Bus Éireann school transport and they are left wondering how their children will get to the Cooley Peninsula and back each day when school starts later this month.
Deputy Ó Murchú said that school transport is ‘an annual disaster’ and while the location changes every year, the stress for parents and families doesn’t.
He said he was aware of WhatsApp groups containing up to 35 parents mostly from Dundalk who are trying to get transport to the Bush School and while a private bus service may be an option, it means additional costs for families.
There was, he said, a particular issue this year where many of those affected had been turned down for placements at Dundalk secondary schools because they were over-subscribed and many of the students are first years, while some have siblings already in the Bush.
The Dundalk TD said he has been in touch with the minister responsible and Bus Éireann School Transport about the problem which is affecting a large number of students and he has also been in touch with private bus operators and Bus Éireann an effort to find a resolution to the problem.
Deputy Ó Murchú said there is also a problem with the school transport appeal mechanism for these students which is based on the fact that the students are not travelling to their nearest school ‘because most have applied to schools in Dundalk and have been turned down because of oversubscription’. The appeals system is ‘overly onerous’, he said.
He said there may be an alternative public transport service available but ‘the times are very tight every day’.
Deputy Ó Murchú said: “At the end of the day, this is a failure of the school transport service which is affecting these families and causing incredible additional stress”.