‘It beggars belief’ - Frustration over lack of progress on new Offaly bus service

An Offaly councillor has expressed frustration over the lack of progress on a new bus service.

Independent Ireland councillor Fergus McDonnell spoke about the proposed Local Link service at the April meeting of the Edenderry Municipal District.

It is expected that the service will serve Kildare village, Monasterevin, Garryhinch, Portarlington, Bracknagh, Clonbulloge and Edenderry.

However, Offaly County Council is unsure as to when this service will be in place. Cllr McDonnell expressed his frustration at the situation.

He stated: “Can I just say in relation to the whole issue, I first raised this in October 2024 and it was referred to the Department [of Transport] and the NTA. Since then, it’s been dragging its heels.”

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Cllr McDonnell said that he was told in 2024 that the service would be in place late that year or early in 2025.

He continued: “I got an email from my contact at the NTA only on March 13 to say they’re no further on.

“One of the problems was because there was an operator on part of that route between Edenderry and Portlaoise, that there has to be further negotiations and all that sort of hullabaloo.

“I think we have a huge ability in Ireland to complicate the simple. The fact that this is no further on than when I first enquired about it and that there’s still no sign of it, beggars belief.”

Cllr McDonnell also noted that there is a big demand for the service, particularly among elderly people.

Fine Gael councillor Noel Cribbin agreed and added that this was evident during the local election campaign in 2024.

The issue was raised when Senior Executive Engineer Rory Moore provided an update on the installation of various bus stops throughout the area.

Mr Moore said that the council are working on bus stops in Portarlington for an existing bus route.

He said that once these are done, stops for the Local Link service will be installed, with two stops due to be put in in Bracknagh and Clonbulloge respectively.

He continued: “The ones in Portarlington are taking a bit longer because they’re actually replacing paths and putting in the kassel kerbs for wheelchair disability access.

“That’s not being done on the more rural routes yet because it’s more important to get the pole up to see where people can stand and get the bus service going.

“So initially it’s just about literally putting the bus pole up and the sign saying ‘listen, this is the bus stop’.”

Mr Moore said that he has been trying to make contact with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to figure out when the service might be up and running.

Cllr Cribbin enquired as to what the timetable for the service might look like.

Mr Moore responded by saying that he wasn’t sure, but that similar Local Link routes have a minimum of five daily services on weekdays and two at the weekend.