The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Annascaul parents reject €20 weekly bus ticket and ask to meet minister
SCHOOL TRANSPORT ISSUES HEATS UP AS PARENTS HOLD FIRM ON DEMANDS
THE parents of 17 secondary school children in Annascaul have rejected an offer of a €20 a week ticket for the rest of the academic year from Bus Éireann.
Their decision was taken at a public meeting at Annascaul last week and now a deputation by parents and local representatives will be requested with Junior Minister for Transport John Halligan following a motion passed at Monday’s county council meeting.
On August 16, days before pupils returned to school, 17 children travelling to school in Tralee were informed that they would not receive concessionary bus tickets.
The other 18 students who applied for tickets were assigned seats in a Bus Éireann-managed minibus to Tralee by lottery, at a cost of €350 for the school year.
In previous years, students who did not win seats on the minibus could still avail of concessionary tickets and travelled on the public Dingle to Tralee bus, but this has been scrapped for 2016/17. Students can still travel on the public bus but have to pay between €1,100 and € 1,700 for the year.
Bus Éireann defended its decision to scrap concessionary student tickets for the public bus, stating that Annascaul students reside closer to Castlegregory’s post-primary school.
“The availability of concessionary transport may vary from year to year – it’s not available on public scheduled services and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s post primary school education cycle,” a Bus Éireann spokesperson said.
Last week parents rejected the offer of €20 weekly tickets, as they said it would still leave them paying almost twice as much as those travelling by minibus. They also expressed unhappiness that the offer was only guaranteed for 2016/17.
“School children in Annascaul have had problems with their transport for around 20 years now and this would be another temporary solution, a spokesperson for the parents claimed, adding: “We’re asking Bus Éireann to allow our kids to travel on the public bus like they always did”.
Although Annascaul is within Dingle’s schoolcatchment area, it is not within the Gaeltacht, and many families opt to send their children to English-speaking Tralee schools rather than Dingle’s all-Irish Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne.
The meeting was attended by Councillors Seamus Cosaí Mac Gearailt and Michael D O’Shea, while Kerry TD Brendan Griffin was represented by Tommy Griffin.
“Common sense needs to be applied to resolve Annascaul’s situation”, Mr Griffin said, while Councillor Mac Gearailt described it as “a problem that’s been going on for years”.
Councillor O’Shea added that Annascaul’s was a unique case. “It’s not the only village in Ireland stuck between catchment areas but it’s an English speaking area within a largely Irish-speaking catchment,” he stated.
A further meeting is to take place in Annascaul next week if a resolution is not found.