Joe Conway (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Kent and I are neighbours in Tramore. There is no conflict of interest because I will be just as mean to him now. I am probably unique among those in the room. I was principal of a country four-teacher school in Dunmore East for 19 years, from 1986 to 2005. From 2005 until I was elected to the Seanad in January, I was an elected representative on the city and county council in Waterford. I saw the scheme in operation from both sides - pretty much from its inception - in rural areas. I just marvel at it because, probably quite illegally, I used to travel from time to time on the bus from my school back to Tramore where I live. I was always told about horror stories that went on. Admittedly, when the principal of the school gets on the bus in the evening, the behaviour graph rises dramatically. Notwithstanding that, the capability of the drivers to keep the bus between the ditches and then ord agus eagar a choinneáil sa bhus chomh maith was quite inspiring. The senior pupils were a great assistance in that. Three buses served my school. All three drivers have since gone ar shlí na fírinne in the past 20 years, but they were great guys. The buses were venerable, but they always turned up on time. It was an amazing service. Books should be written about it because the school transport service, for all the brickbats it gets, is amazing. As public representatives, we should be much more forthright in talking it up. We tend to hear about the negatives. Watching the system over the past 20 years, it has become so much slicker and more responsive to information technology and is now far more flexible. It was so inflexible in my day. The witnesses go through hoops to facilitate people in all parts of the country. Mr. Kent, a fhoireann agus na daoine sa Roinn oideachas a bhíonn ag plé le hiompar scoile, I want to record my appreciation of what has happened over the past 40 years. I am sure everybody in rural Ireland would say the same, beagnach.