Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)

The roll-out of the school transport scheme in Kildare this year was a complete shambles, as my colleague just said. On the first day of school, my phone and inbox were flooded with messages from parents who were informed at the very last minute that their child's bus route had been cancelled. We know that in some of these instances no bid was made on the route, yet parents were left completely in the dark. That kind of breakdown in co-ordination should never have happened. I hope the Department and Bus Éireann are taking measures to ensure that families are not left in the same position next year.

One family just outside Kildare town has two young girls attending Gaelscoil Mhic Aodha. A third is due to start there next year. They are concessionary ticket holders but were left without seats this year. Their only option is to walk to school. Their mother is a school principal who cannot step away from her own students to drive her children, while their father regularly works abroad. She is now considering a career break simply because there is no safe or reliable way to get her children to school. Tá pionós á chur ar na teaghlaigh seo de bharr go bhfuil siad ag seoladh a gcuid páistí chuig Gaelscoil.

Noelle, another mother, also contacted me. She sends her children to the same school and her family are in a similar predicament. Her eldest, who is aged ten, walks the poorly adapted road to school. Her youngest, who has just started i naíonáin bheaga, is taking a lift on a bus three days a week. Noelle and her husband are both engineers, but she is the one whose career has suffered in filling in the gaps, arriving late to work and having to hide the strain she is under in a male-dominated field.

These stories are not isolated. Families describe years of chaos - tickets one year but gone the next, routes starting and then being abandoned. The uncertainty is crushing and the burden falls disproportionately on mothers. When the scheme works, it supports families and promotes gender equality but when it fails, it deepens inequality and puts children at risk. I ask the Minister to look urgently at the Rathangan to Kildare town route in particular, which is reportedly one of the busiest in the district. A second bus could be provided immediately if the Department gave the green light. Tá an t-éileamh ann.

Many parents have contacted me regarding the lack of routes serving the Gaelcholáiste in Nás na Ríogh. Children from Monasterevin, Kildare town and Newbridge are all travelling together to Naas. As a result, these children are arriving up to 40 minutes late every day. Again, families are being punished for availing of their right to education through meán na Gaeilge. This could be solved by adding additional routes.

The school transport scheme was designed to make family life manageable for ordinary working people. Right now, it is failing them. I recognise capacity challenges exist but it does not appear that the Government is exploring every possible solution.

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