Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for sharing a little of his time. As a former business person and one who knows business, I know the Minister of State appreciates the need for common sense. I have written to him about a case, that of the Gilgarrow family in Sligo, concerning school transport. A child in that family attends Coola school even though the closest school is Ballymote but because historically the family attended that school, that child can continue to do so. A sibling of that child is travelling in the same direction but it will not be possible for that child to do so without paying ¤350 despite the fact that the family has a medical card and that there is a spare seat on the bus. Effectively, the Government is saying to that family that one child can travel on the bus to school but that a parent will have to transport the other child by car in that direction, even though there is a spare seat, the person has a medical card and there is also a scenario where there is another child at home with diabetes who requires a routine to be followed in terms of medication.

I ask the Minister of State to examine that case; I know he has details on it. I appreciate that there must be rules and a threshold. However, for Government to work effectively, there must be some element of common sense and discretion. As a former businessperson, the Minister of State will appreciate that and perhaps he can examine the case. There are many similar to it. Taking a literal interpretation of the rules means that needy cases are overlooked. As well as a literal interpretation, there is an interpretation of the spirit of the rules. In the case of the Gilgarrow family in Castlebaldwin, County Sligo, discretion is warranted.

On a matter not related to school transport, I ask the Minister of State to investigate reports that Bus Éireann is adjusting services to rural areas. I refer specifically to the north west of the country, where the Dublin route calls on Rooskey, County Roscommon, and Dromod, County Leitrim, and the reports that the service will no longer call to those villages. This move will further marginalise the north west, rural Ireland and the communities dependent on these services. The route between Sligo and Dublin is crucial to community life in these smaller villages and connects them to employment and services of the larger centres. I do not recall the route numbers but I ask the Minister of State to examine the matter. While everyone appreciates that savings are necessary, we must be conscious of preserving the soul of Ireland, which is rural Ireland and parts of the country that do not have the critical mass for services. If services must be pared back to make savings, we must do so where there is a critical mass of other services such as in Dublin, Galway and the larger cities.