Mayo TD calls for reinstatement of vital school bus route

Mayo Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has urged the Minister for Education to act immediately and reinstate the post-primary school bus route serving the Boleyglass and Derryfadda areas.

Raising the issue in the Dáil, Deputy Conway-Walsh described the current drop-off and pick-up arrangements as “treacherous” and said the situation is placing children and their parents at risk on a daily basis.

The bus route, which operated for more than 40 years, was discontinued in 2021 following a decline in student numbers. However, Deputy Conway-Walsh pointed out that numbers have since risen again, with ten students along the road eligible for transport.

“Bus Éireann themselves have conceded the route meets the criteria to be reinstated,” she said. “Yet instead, parents and children are expected to gather at a designated collection point at the junction of the R315 and L1723. The designated point selected by BusEireann is along a busy commuter route with a turn to Westport and a route north to Castlebar via the Windy Gap.

The junction also has a significant blind spot as shown below.

“This is simply unsafe”, the Erris based deputy added, “Either children walk there along unlit roads with no cycle lanes, or parents must drive and pull in at the junction, further adding to the danger.”

Deputy Conway-Walsh said a bus already serves primary school pupils in the same area and questioned why the secondary school service cannot be restored.

“With the darker winter months upon us, the risk to children’s safety is even greater,” she added. “We are not asking for anything new, only for the reinstatement of a route that served these communities for four decades. Common sense needs to prevail.”

“I will continue to press the Minister of State for a response,” she said. “The health and safety of children in Boleyglass and Derryfadda must come before bureaucracy.”