On Monday, 20 March I attended a meeting at Ballyagran primary school to discuss problems with the school bus service. In addition to the principal of the school, over 70 parents were in attendance. They have been aggrieved for some time about the inefficient transport system provided for the Ballyagran primary school. They also pointed out that bus transport has been discussed at every monthly meeting for the past three years.
Pupils at Ballyagran school come from a wide rural area which embraces Castletown, Ballyagran and Colmanswell parishes. Approximately 160 pupils attend Ballyagran primary school of which 104 are eligible for the bus transport system. Bus Éireann, which operates the scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Science, has two buses which also do school runs to the post-primary schools. The Colmanswell bus is under the Limerick division while the Castletown bus is under the Cork division of Bus Éireann. The Castletown bus is over 18 years old while the Colmanswell bus is over 20 years old. The drivers do an excellent job in difficult circumstances. The children who travel on the buses to the primary school are in the age bracket of five to 13 years.
I wish to outline some of the difficulties with the buses and I will confine my remarks to December 1999. Regarding the Castletown bus, during December 1999 there was no morning service on two occasions. On two other occasions the bus was between 30 to 40 minutes late collecting the children. The bus driver is not supplied with a mobile telephone by Bus Éireann and the parents council recently took the initiative and provided him with one. Based on their past experience, they want to ensure contact is possible for future anticipated problems with the bus service.
Regarding the bus which services Colmanswell, on two occasions in December 1999 there was no morning service. On another morning there was no service due to fumes in the bus. The bus broke down on two other occasions in the evening when it was bringing children from the school. The Minister should imagine the situation with young children on the bus and the frustration and worry caused to parents and children.
I have only dealt with the catalogue of incidents during last December. The parents and children have been most tolerant of the most unsatisfactory condition of the buses. Complaints have been made to Bus Éireann without success. How can the Minister reconcile a situation where a car registered prior to 1992 is subject to a Department of the Environment and Local Government test but a bus aged over 20 years is not subject to such a test? The parents and pupils have put up with an intolerable situation over the years and they are most impatient and frustrated with the lack of action. It is imperative that the Depart ment instructs Bus Éireann to provide more modern buses to replace the antiquated models now being used. I implore the Minister in the interests of the safety of these young children to provide the reassurance required that replacement school transport will be provided. I look forward to the Minister's reply.
