School bus arrives in Waterford village for first time in 20 years after protest

As a school bus to Dungarvan arrives in Ardmore for the first time in 20 years, the Ardmore School Bus Campaign Group celebrates a hard fought and historic victory.

The campaign welcomes the decision by Bus Eireann to move the school bus school pick up from Kiely’s Cross to safer locations including Ardmore. However, serious concerns remain regarding over 40 students in the village still without a seat on the bus.

For the past six weeks the community of Ardmore has advocated for their children who attend secondary school in Dungarvan to have safe and funded school transport. Local people contacted local councillors, TDs, Senators and Ministers as well as the Department of Education. The campaign had three distinct issues; the unsafe pick-up location at Kielys Cross, children left behind who are having to pay €40 per week to go to school, and the over-arching issue of rural development and support for this rural community.

Campaigner Brenda Griffin said: "This is the first time a School Transport Scheme school bus for Dungarvan has come into the village in over 20 years. We are so glad that that children can meet the bus at a safe pick-up point and it is brilliant that the work of this small community paid off for its children.

"But there are still over 40 children without access to the school transport scheme, my own included. I pay €80 per week for my two children to go to school by private bus, which is close to €2800 per year while my neighbour can send her children for around €125 in total per year."

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Brenda's neighbour Petrina Hennessey said that while the community welcomes the move by Bus Eireann to a safer pick-up point, and that the people of Ardmore are united in their belief that no child must be left behind: "I am very conscious that the situation for our children is precarious until the Dept of Education commits to treating all the secondary students of our village equally. My child has a place this year but what about next year? We need school transport from Ardmore to Dungarvan so all our children can access education in their own county.

Campaigners welcomed the ongoing engagement with local political representatives, many of whom came to Ardmore to understand the situation firsthand. Parents had excellent support, in particular from two representatives; Councillor Conor McGuiness who was engaged with the families from the moment this issue arose, offering practical advice, visiting the village on numerous occasions and ensuring the issue remained on the political agenda. And Deputy Marc O’Cathasaigh with whom the campaign team worked closely to engage with both Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Bus Eireann and ultimately resolve the safety issue.

The solidarity in Ardmore has been evident throughout this campaign, hundreds of residents of the village came out in support of their neighbours. Campaigner Anto Howard on hearing the news that safer pick-up points had been designated, said it was a great day for safety and common sense and ultimately people power:

"Our neighbours and friends came out in solidarity to march and protest and contact their local politicians and we have achieved a great improvement in the safety of the pick-up points. We are delighted that Bus Eireann have acted so positively and promptly and we look forward to engaging with them going forward to ensure a school bus place for all our children. It is time for a seat for every child."

Anto’s son Tom Howard, a first-year student at St. Augustine’s College Dungarvan (and pictured with Deputy O’Cathasaigh in photo) said: "It’s great that a lot of my friend nows have a public bus taking them to school, but it’s not right that I don’t have a seat, along with many other kids in Ardmore and Grange."