Parents left ‘high and dry’ due to no school bus places

Parents and children are being “stranded” around the county due to the lack of places available on school transport busses.

That’s according to Sinn Fein TD Paul Donnelly for Dublin Mid West who says that his constituency has been “overwhelmed” with worried families.

Earlier this year, the Government announced it was waiving school transport fees in an effort to reduce back-to-school costs.

However, opposition TDs have said that the Government had failed to plan for the increased demand following the decision to provide free school transport this year.

Deputy Donnelly says the problem is widespread and is calling on Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to take immediate action and address the issue.

“Parents up and down the state have been badly let down with thousands of children left without a place on school transport,” he says.

“Many parents, who have relied for years on school transport on concessionary passes, have been left high and dry after being told that their child no longer has a seat on the bus.

“They are being told that Bus Éireann is getting correspondence that additional capacity is not being sought for concessionary pupils who secured tickets for this school year, while other parents lost out due the unfair lottery nature of the scheme.

“Families expecting to see savings of €500 now look set to instead be heaped with additional costs as they try to find alternatives.

“My constituency office has been overwhelmed with worried families who are paying for a service upon which they relied and now find themselves unable to get their children to school,” Deputy Donnelly said.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said in the Dail last week that the Government was aware of the concerns of parents but defended its decision, saying that an additional 21,000 places were provided.

However, he did say that may have not been enough.

Deputy Donnelly said that the Government should have ensured that “no child is left behind.

“Instead of facing up to this debacle, they have gone into hiding, so government TDs here in Dublin West must hold them to account,” he says.

“Failure to do so demonstrates a real lack of respect for parents.

“This mess is entirely of the government’s making, and families need a solution and they need it now.

Deputy Donnelly says that the current scheme is “simply is not good enough” and “we need to see a plan to ensure that every child who needs a school bus seat actually gets one.”

Minister Varadkar said that the Government could introduce be a nominal fee for school bus tickets next year.

“Next year, perhaps there’ll be a nominal fee.

“But that is a matter for next year,” he said.

The current initiative is aimed at saving families €650 per year, he said.