Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome this debate. I wholeheartedly endorse Deputy O'Dowd's call for change. It has never been more needed. I am also trying hard not to enjoy all the Government speakers coming to the House to speak about the deplorable state in which the Government has left transport for kids trying to get to school.

We all know that school transport is an essential service, particularly in my constituency and constituencies like it. Vast swathes of north County Dublin are rural and we have urban areas, towns and villages, with children and learners commuting between them. Many learners in my constituency want to attend a school in their catchment area but may need to leave their immediate vicinity to be able to access the school of their choice, be that a Gaelscoil, an Educate Together school or a school for children with special needs. In many families, the parents are working and commuting and cannot bring the students in the family to school, so they are reliant on public transport. I spent much of the summer engaging on behalf of many parents in my area to try to ensure they have a secure route to school for their kids. In some cases, parents have had to change jobs. Some have had to change shifts and others had to go part time in order to get their children to school.

One of the areas where this problem is highly pronounced is Balbriggan where Coláiste Ghlór na Mara services a massive catchment area. We do not have enough Gaelscoileanna in my constituency. There are 35 students in the school who live in Swords. Many of them went to Gaelscoil Bhrian Bóroimhe, which is a feeder school for Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, yet they have been told the school they should go to is Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in Donaghmede. Many of them were denied a place there, so they have no choice. They have approached a local private provider which stated it has the capacity to get the students to school, yet there does not seem to be a resolution. It makes me wonder if this Government is committed at all to Irish medium education because it is not facilitating these students.

See this speech in context