Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that response but I am very disappointed with it. I was a member of the cross-party group. I expressed very clearly to the Minister of State the concerns of rural communities.

It is clear that this issue does not arise in the Minister of State's constituency. If it did, he might be more active on it. What is occurring is not good enough. I expressed my concerns. The cross-party review group did not even have an agenda. At the meeting, I expressed very strongly the views of many people across this country, not just in Offaly. It is not good enough that 6,882 children were affected by cuts to concessionary transport. The Minister of State made a commitment that no child would lose his or her seat on a school bus.

We have communities that are disadvantaged. In one case in Donegal, a bus is running across a mountain, leading to health and safety issues. This is as a result of the review and the Minister of State's inaction on the issue. I call on him to examine the matter. Clearly, it does not concern his constituency, but it concerns thousands of children across the country.

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