Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

Up and down the country, but especially in rural areas, the inflexibility and lack of common sense of the Department and Bus Éireann constitute a real issue. I will ask the Minister of State two questions before I outline a case for him. Why is there separate vetting in every Bus Éireann office for drivers? I am thinking of where someone crosses over the Galway border from Mayo. Drivers often have to get up to ten separate Garda vettings. It does not make any sense when we have a shortage of drivers. I heard the Minister of State mention the fact that over-70s could only do short bus runs for Bus Éireann yet could drive hundreds of miles on private buses. This needs to be addressed quickly.

For over a year, I have been trying to resolve the dangerous situation on the Derryfadda and Boleyglass school route in Mayo. In 2021, a bus route that had serviced these areas for more than 40 years ceased operation due to the decline in student numbers. Since then, as in many rural areas, student numbers have risen and they meet the criteria to reinstate the route. However, Bus Éireann and the Department have failed to do so. Instead, parents and children are expected to travel to the nearest designated collection drop-off point, which happens to be located at the intersection of the R315 and the L1723, a busy commuter route with a significant blind spot on approach for other road users. This means that either children are expected to make their way there on foot along an already busy road with no cycle lanes or street lighting or their parents are expected to drive them down, pull in and wait to either drop off or collect them, further compromising road safety at this location. There has been a substantial back and forth between residents of this area and Bus Éireann, with Bus Éireann conceding the route meets the criteria to be reinstated, there being ten students along the road who would avail of the service. A bus is already in operation on this route for primary school pupils so why can the previously operated route at post-primary level not be reinstated? Some common sense needs to be applied to this situation, particularly now in the winter months where it can be dark and visibility on rural roads is significantly reduced, compromising safety. We are simply asking for the reinstatement of previously operated routes that served the students of Derryfadda and Boleyglass for 40 years. Why are we putting children in situations where their health and safety are compromised when it could be easily fixed? I have written to the Minister of State twice on this matter and would really appreciate a response.

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