Rose Conway-Walsh Demands Reinstatement of Rural School Bus Route
Rose Conway-Walsh criticised Bus Ayrn and the Department of Education for failing to reinstate a post-primary school bus route serving Derry, Fodda and Boley Glass in Mayo and said the situation endangers children. She also raised concerns about repeated separate vetting requirements for drivers and restrictions on over-70s driving short Bus Ayrn runs.
Request to reinstate long-standing route
Rose Conway-Walsh outlined that a bus route which had served the Derry, Fodda and Boley Glass areas for more than 40 years ceased operation in 2021 due to a decline in student numbers. She said student numbers have since risen to meet the criteria for reinstatement, and that Bus Ayrn has conceded the route meets the criteria and there are 10 students who would avail of the service.
Safety concerns at designated collection point
She highlighted that parents and children are currently expected to travel to a designated collection and drop-off point at the intersection of the R315 and the L1723, describing it as a busy commuter route with a significant blind spot. She said the absence of bicycle lanes and street lighting forces children to walk on a busy road or parents to drive and stop on the verge, further compromising road safety, particularly in winter when visibility is reduced.
Vetting and over-70s driving rules
Rose Conway-Walsh questioned why drivers must undergo separate vetting for every Bus Ayrn office, saying drivers can end up having to get up to 10 separate vettings when they cross board boundaries. She also queried the rule that over-70s cannot do a short Bus Ayrn run while they are permitted to drive long distances on private buses, calling for that policy to be speeded up.
Administrative failure and call for response
The deputy said there has been substantial back-and-forth between residents and Bus Ayrn, and that despite concession the route meets the criteria, the post-primary service has not been reinstated while a primary school bus already operates on the same road. She said she has written twice to the minister on the matter and requested a response, urging common-sense reinstatement to remove the current danger to children.
Local consequences and winter risk
Rose Conway-Walsh stressed that the continued failure to reinstate the previously operated route places pupils in dangerous situations that could be remedied quickly, and she pressed the minister to act before winter conditions make the road safety risks worse.
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Minister, up and down the country, but especially in rural areas, the inflexibility and the lack of common sense of the department and Bus Ayrn is a real issue. I want to ask you two questions first before I outline a case for you. Why is there separate vetting for every Bus Ayrn office for drivers? So if somebody crosses over onto the Galway board or whatever from Mayo, so it can end up that drivers often have to get up to 10 guard the vetting, separate guard the vettings. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever when we have a shortage of drivers. The other thing I heard you mention there around the over 70s, the fact that over 70s cannot do a short bus run with Bus Ayrn, but they can drive hundreds of miles on private buses. I really think that needs to be speeded up quickly. Minister, for over a year now I've been trying to resolve the dangerous situation currently in operation in Derry, Fodda and Boley, Glass School Route in Mayo. So since 2021, a bus route which has serviced these areas for more than 40 years ceased operation due to the decline in student numbers. However, since then, as in many rural areas, student numbers have risen again and they meet the criteria to reinstate the route. However, Bus Ayrn and the Department of Education have failed to reinstate it. 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 children are either expected to make their way here on foot or an already busy road with no bicycle lanes or street lighting or their parents drive them down, pull in and wait for either drop off or collect their child, further compromising road safety at this location. There has been a substantial back and forth between residents of this area and Bus Ayrn, with Bus Ayrn conceding the route meets the criteria to be reinstated. That being that there are 10 students along the route who would avail of the service. There is a bus already in operation on this route for primary school pupils. So why can the previously operated route at post-primary level not be reinstated? There needs to be some common sense applied to this situation Minister, especially now in the winter months where it can be dark and visibility in our rural roads is significantly reduced. Thank you. Compromising the safety. I will just finish Minister because I think my time is up. Why are we are simply asking for the reinstatement of previously operated routes that served the students of Derry Father and Bowley Glass for 40 years? Why are we putting children under situations where their health and safety is compromised, when it could be easily fixed? I have written to you twice on this matter and I really would appreciate your response. Deputy Donna McGettigan. Thank you. I'll kiss you again. Thank you too. Thank you again. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you and thank you again.
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