Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on the government to take immediate action to address the school transport shambles that has left children and parents stranded.
The Sinn Fein TD said parents throughout Donegal have been let down badly by the government with many children told they don’t have a place on school transport.
He said “Families expecting to see savings of €500 now look set to instead be stung with additional costs as they try to find other ways to get their children to school.
“My constituency offices have been inundated with calls from worried families who are paying for a service upon which they relied and now find themselves unable to get their children to school.
“Ministers Foley and Ryan should have anticipated the increase in demand following the introduction of free school transport and should have worked with Bus Éireann to deliver the additional capacity needed to ensure that no child is left stranded.”
He added that Ministers have gone into hiding instead of facing up to this shambles.
“Families need this issue resolved and they need it resolved now.
“Sinn Féin Education and Transport spokespersons, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire and Darren O’Rourke, have consistently called for an additional 10,000 places on school transport.
“That is the level of investment that is needed to get on top of this crisis, to get children onto school buses, and to deliver help for parents.
“By making no attempt to fix this, the government is showing a real lack of respect to parents.”
