Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to discuss something that I imagine affects everyone in the Chamber, namely, school bus routes. It was brought to my attention again this morning. I am looking for Bus Éireann to review bus routes and change them to accommodate the increasing populations of areas like Ballymoe and the townlands surrounding it. At the moment, two buses travel the same route for large parts of their journeys. The village of Ballymoe and its townlands are no longer being serviced. Bus Éireann has agreed to this and has come up with an alternative solution whereby students meet the buses on the side of the roads, quite often in dangerous places or at entrances to places like quarries. The parents affected by this decision have made a proposal which would be more efficient. The buses would not be travelling the same road and the collection points would not be at dangerous positions. Can we consider allowing parents associations to make cases like this one and have them considered in a timely manner?