Mayo Sinn Féin TD, Rose Conway-Walsh, has said that the Minister for Education and representatives of Bus Éireann must come before the Oireachtas urgently to address the scandal of shortages on school transport in Mayo.
Sinn Féin have written to Oireachtas Committees on Education and Transport, calling for a joint sitting of the committees as soon as possible 'for the Minister and transport representatives to attend and work on delivering urgent solutions for families hit by this crisis'.
Deputy Conway-Walsh said: "Across Mayo, parents who have relied for years on school bus transport are pulling their hair out after being let down last minute by the government. Today we see a number of children in Straide being refused to get on the bus.
"My office has been inundated with calls from parents locally who are desperate to get a seat for their child. While some of these have now got seats, too many others are still left in limbo.
"Sinn Féin has repeatedly called for 10,000 additional places on School Bus Transport to meet the demand across the state, however the government failed to deliver that and now families are paying the price for these shortages.
"Expanding School Transport is a no brainer- it reduces traffic, emissions, and makes life easier and cheaper for families. This could have been a really positive scheme, but instead the government’s poor planning has let families down.
"The Minister has failed to give answers to families here in Mayo who need to know urgently what will happen next to solve this. The Minister must intervene urgently. She should instruct Bus Éireann to look within their own and the private bus sector’s resources to expand capacity to ensure that no child is left without a seat.
"Sinn Féin want to work with the Minister to find solutions, so no child is left without a seat, and we are calling for her to meet with the Education and Transport committee as soon as possible and work with us constructively on this. Sinn Féin will stand up for families in Mayo and ensure that these solutions are delivered without any more uncertainty or delay."
