No school bus for Moynalvey schoolchildren

A group of more than 16 Meath children have been stranded without a school bus service in the Moynalvey area.

Families in the area were shocked to discover the school bus their children are entitled to is not running and Bus Eireann says it is due to lack of a driver or contractor.

Colleen McCormack, a mother to three children said she lives approximately 8km from her childrens' school, Scoil Ui Riada in Kilcock.

"My two eldest children are going into 4th and 1st class, My third child is due to start her primary school education in September 2026. We have been availing of the school transport with Bus Eireann for the previous five years, this will be our sixth school year. This bus service is essential to us and it is a lifeline due to my husband's and my work commitments. We are the first stop on that route, getting collected and dropped from the back of Hattons."

They received their bus tickets approximately three to four weeks ago for the upcoming school year, but on the 21st of August, Colleen received an email from Bus Eireann " we've had trouble setting up transport on some routes, including yours. This is mostly because a number of difficulties have arisen in some localities with a small number of contracted services, including the service intended for your children. These difficulties have arisen in some cases due to lack of driver or contractor availability".

There are 16 children who get on the school bus at Colleen's children's stop which is the first stop on the route. "Then it collects up to 20 more children along the way mainly in RyeBridge, Kilcock. We are now in a position one week into the school year and still no service, something we heavily rely on and no update from Bus Eireann despite repeated emails and phonecalls.

"This leaves us as a family and a community in a very difficult position. We reside in a rural part of the community and rely on the school bus for a number of reasons, My children are on the bus five days a week to and from School. Both my husband and I work full time and this school transport enables us to work.

"The absence of this service put us in a very difficult position so much so that the only option may be for me to resign from my job to ensure my children can get to school - a job I have been in for 19 years.

"We as parents have chosen for our children to be educated through Irish and a contributing factor to this was the school transport. Bus Eireann are obliged to transport our children to the nearest Gaelscoil - they are failing to do this year. We are now at a loss that this has been pulled and quite frankly it seems like Bus Eireann or the Minister of Education don't care about our situation," she said.

Bus Eireann has been approached for comment.