Inconsistencies in the issuing of concessionary tickets for school buses, ahead of what will already be a stressful new school year, "is the last thing parents need".
This is the view of the Minister of State for the Department of Health; and the Department of Justice & Equality, with responsibility for Disability, Fianna Fáil Galway East TD, Anne Rabbitte. She has written to the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, on the issue.
“Parents are being told very late in the summer that their children will not be given a seat on the school bus," said Minister Rabbitte explained. "It has left many parents across Galway upset and very stressed as they now scramble to secure transport."
'At a time when parents are already concerned about how children will cope with the ‘new normal’ in schools, this is the last thing they need'
In some cases, parents of schoolchildren who have used the bus service for a number of years "have only now been told their child is not on the bus, while new concessionary tickets have been granted to other children starting school".
Minister Rabbitte said this is the result of a "lack of transparency" in the concessionary ticket process which needs to be addressed.
“At a time when some parents are already concerned about how their children will cope with the ‘new normal’ in schools," she said, "this is the last thing parents need. People need to know they are being supported but unfortunately, this sentiment is not being felt by all at the moment."
