Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport

Rural Bus Transport: Discussion

2:00 am

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)

That would be great. There are a number of locations in the county, including Bohola park, Kilkelly and Bofeenaun that require bus stops where there are services being well used. Unfortunately in the west of Ireland, as we know, it rains twice as much as it does on the east coast. Bus stops are really well needed in those locations. I mentioned Charlestown. Castlebar train station is another location. I have been talking to Mayo County Council and it has been raised with me. I welcome the linking with local authorities in terms of delivering this infrastructure.

My final point, if it is appropriate, is about school transport. It is a regular challenge to try to meet everyone's needs. I have a particular situation. The full school bus provider, Willie B coaches, is operating the service. There is a family of five children who are on the line. The capacity is at 16. The coach operator is able to increase capacity to allow this family to be included on the route. Unfortunately I am hitting a brick wall in trying to get this family of five kids onto the service. If it is possible to engage on it, there is capacity from the coach operator, who is able to increase the fleet size from a 16-seater to a 24-seater. This would mean the family of five children would be able to get on this new route, which I have been campaigning for. I thank our guests for delivering it. A slight increase in capacity would make a transformational difference for this particular family. If we could engage on it, I would appreciate it.

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