Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a question that has been asked many times. It pertains to the over-70s rule for drivers. The school bus fiasco has featured nationally but it is also a Dublin issue. Many people thought it involved a Department of Transport rule but then it became obvious that it relates Bus Éireann policy. Many buses move around the city and throughout the country in the mornings and afternoons. The rule is rather punitive. If a class of students who are booked in for a swimming lesson or match have to be brought 2 km over the road, a driver over 70 can do so, but he or she cannot do a school pick-up or drop-off. Will Bus Éireann be revisiting this rule because doing so would be transformative in freeing up drivers and ensuring more widespread coverage of services?