Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, to the House. As a neighbouring county, I wish County Cork all the best in the upcoming all–Ireland hurling final. We hold no grudges when it comes to the hurling ball.

My Commencement matter concerns the need for the Minister for Transport and Bus Éireann to review the rural school bus routes in County Kerry and extend services beyond the Listowel catchment area and into the Ballybunion and north Kerry area. An issue close to the hearts of many families in my county, especially in north Kerry, is school transport access to Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí. It is the only Irish-speaking secondary school in north Kerry and services the area from Tralee into the hinterland.

I acknowledge the positive steps taken recently by Bus Éireann. I thank it sincerely for its co-operation and hard work in recent months. I have been proud to work alongside it and I am very pleased we have secured a new school bus route from Abbeydorney and Lixnaw to allow students to attend Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí. This is a great development. I greatly welcome it, as do the parents. It is a life-changer for them and the students. It is proof that progress is possible when local needs are listened to. I thank Councillor Aoife Kennelly for her work on this matter too.

This is, however, just a start for any child who wishes to attend Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí in Tralee, the only Irish language secondary school in north Kerry. The school provides excellent education and a living connection to our national language and identity but that should extend to students across north Kerry, from places like Ballybunion, Tarbert, Moyvane, Causeway, Astee, Ballyduff and Kilmorna. Nine pupils in the Gaelscoil primary school in Listowel have been identified to attend the Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí in Tralee next year. However, there are no accessible connections to our school transport network. Therein lies the problem. The network has been extended into Lixnaw now, which is fantastic, but we need to extend it further. We need to get kids in other non-Irish speaking primary schools showing they want to attend the secondary school too.

Families are being punished for choosing the medium of Irish language education. Parents are being forced to drive a round trip of up to 25 km every day just to get their children to school. Others rely on outdated connections and long, indirect journeys that place great stress on students and their families. This is simply not good enough in 2025. No child should be denied access to education based on where they live and no parent should be put in the impossible position of choosing between their child's education and their family's daily routines. I call on the Minister for Transport and Bus Éireann to build on the progress we have made and extend the school bus routes to serve all north Kerry. We have shown that solutions are possible. We now need to apply them fairly, consistently and urgently. Let us ensure every student has a fair chance to attend Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí in Tralee. Let us support our language not just in words but through action and deliver real equality for the communities of north Kerry and for the students who want to attend the school.

I will give one practical example. The bus that leaves Listowel to go directly to the Gaelcholáiste in Tralee leaves at 8 a.m. A child - one of two siblings - who wants to get that 8 a.m. bus from Tarbert next year will have to be up at about 6.30 a.m. to get ready for school and get dropped at the bus for 8 a.m. I urgently ask the Minister of State to progress the new routes.