Donegal County Councillor Gary Doherty has today claimed that school transport limitations which restrict students from travelling on later scheduled services as ‘grossly unfair’.
The Sinn Fein councillor’s comments come after it was revealed that students who participate in extra-curricular activities after school are not permitted to use their school bus ticket to travel home on scheduled Bus Eireann services.
Cllr Doherty said “This policy of not allowing our children to travel on public transport after school is yet another attack on rural Ireland. It has long been the practice that pupils who stayed on after school to participate in extra-curricular activities were allowed to travel on later scheduled Bus Eireann services. But I have been informed by the Minister for Education and Skills that this is no longer the case.”
He added that this is blatant discrimination against our school children who live in the more rural areas outside the big towns.
“They are not being afforded the same opportunities to participate fully in school activities.
“On a practical level, here in the Finn Valley, students from Killygordon/Castlefinn/Lifford attending either Finn Valley College or St Columbas’s College in Stranorlar could avail of the 18.15 bus from Ballybofey to Strabane with their school bus ticket in order to get home.
“This is no longer the case. These children must now rely on their parents to come and collect them, and if that is not possible then they simply can’t participate in the extra-curricular activities.
He said parents of secondary school pupils are already paying through the nose to send their children to school.
“School bus tickets alone are €350 for one pupil and €650 for a family. Given that our rural transport services are rarely anywhere near capacity, I am calling on the Minister to change this policy and allow these pupils to travel on the later, scheduled services.”
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