Offaly students left without bus service at last minute

A group of Offaly students have been left with no transport to get to secondary school this year.

Thirteen students in Moneygall are understood to have been left with no transport to get to school in Nenagh and that they only found out from Bus Eireann at the end of the August that their tickets, which they had paid for, wouldn't be granted.

Rachael Flynn's daughter is one of those affected and speaking to a local radio station earlier this week, she said they were told that her daughter could get a bus if they drove her to Toomevara.

However, Rachael said that wasn't “good enough”. “They looked for money. They looked for payment by the end of July. I paid my money by July 27 and they didn’t tell me until August 21 that my child was going to be put on a Toomevara bus.”

“So I emailed straight away – no response. And I’ve been emailing every day since and I’ve been trying to phone every day since. All we get is an operator who can’t put me onto anybody in charge or anybody who can give me any answers. They just keep telling us to email this address.”

 Meanwhile, Cllr Peter Ormond called on the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley to carry out a full review of School Transport. While acknowledging that we are in difficult times, it is not good enough that there are many students left without transport.

"I have been contacted by many parents whose children have missed out on a concessionary ticket this year and this has caused great distress to parents and students. In Moneygall alone, there are 13 students left without transport to Post Primary School and despite many representations to the School Transport Section, there has been no change in the provision of transport."

"This issue is an annual occurrence and each year the problem seems to deteriorate. We need a full review that will ensure that all students who wish to assess the transport system can avail of it. This year, parents and students have enough stress in returning to school and then to receive an email a few days before school commences is not acceptable. They are no alternative for these students and many are relying on parents taking leave from employment to transport them to and from school."

Cllr Ormond stated that he would like to thank the drivers who operate Bus Eireann busses and the private operators for their assistance over the last 10 days. "They have ensured that students are always safe while providing practical advice to students and parents," the councillor added.