Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The utter lack of accessible public transport in rural areas and this outdated system have left countless students stranded without reliable transportation to their schools. It is an absolute disgrace. The Government has the audacity to preach about reducing car journeys for the sake of our environment, but the absence of adequate public and school bus transport is a glaring contradiction that smacks of hypocrisy. So much for reducing our carbon footprint. Imagine a young mother, slowly going blind, desperate to secure school transport for her son in west Cork, only to be met with deafening silence when she contacted Bus Éireann. It offered her no solution and no hope for getting her child to school. And what about the child battling cancer? Imagine a young student, in the fight of their life, unable to secure a seat on a bus. Shame on the Government. It offers no solution, no compassion to children in such dire need. And what about the so-called concessionary children? One year they receive tickets and the next year they are left in the lurch. It is a cruel joke. We have families where some siblings get tickets while others in the same family do not. Parents are left driving behind the bus, wasting fuel and adding to our so-called carbon footprint. It is an absolute travesty.

Ballinhassig, Bantry and Baltimore are just a few of the places where groups of children are left without transport options. Yes, they might be considered concessionary but these children, through no fault of their own, cannot attend their nearest school. The system is broken and needs a complete overhaul.

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