Campaign for Kilnaleck school bus continues

Two Kilnaleck mothers have attended a meeting in the Dáil to campaign for a public school bus service from Kilnaleck to the county town.

The meeting took place last Wednesday, May 24, with local mothers Pauline Clarke and Edel Connolly, TDs Pauline Tully, Niamh Smyth, Brendan Smith and Senator Joe O’Reilly in attendance, as well as Minister for Education Norma Foley and a Bus Éireann representative.

Pauline Clarke has been pleading with Bus Éireann to introduce a bus route to bring Kilnaleck students to Cavan Town schools for years, but to no avail.

Speaking following the meeting, the mother of four said: “Myself and Edel went up and we were in for a half two meeting, it lasted about 45 minutes. It went well from my eyes. We got to say what we needed to say and we gave it our all.”

Minister Foley told the group a petition must be signed by each of the affected families in order for the route to be considered.

However, Pauline claims to have already handed in such a petition to Bus Éireann, to which she says she received no response.

“She asked for a petition, which I told her I had done 12 months ago. She said she had no recollection of it, that she didn’t have any information and to do it again.

“[Bus Éireann] is taking it now through Niamh Smyth, which is better for us so it can’t get lost again,” she continued.

The issue stems from Department of Education rules around school transport, which only requires Bus Éireann to provide a public service for secondary school children to the school/town nearest their home address.

In Pauline’s case, St Clare’s College in Ballyjamesduff is five kilometres closer than schools in Cavan Town.

As a result, parents in the Kilnaleck area have been forking out thousands each year for a private bus service to bring their children to school in Cavan Town in the absence of a public service.

Following last week’s meeting, Pauline is optimistic a bus route will be created in time for the start of the September 2023 academic year.

She believes it is more important than ever given the ongoing cost of living crisis, as well as the free school transport scheme implemented in 2022.

“I do hope they will be able to bring it into Kilnaleck. A lot of parents are under severe pressure, especially now at the minute. I’ve been contacted by a lot more parents a year on and they’re pulling away from the private bus, however they’re under a lot of pressure having to travel to buses.”