Bus Éireann is criticised over lack of school bus places in Cork

A Cork TD has criticised the government and Bus Éireann over failure to provide sufficient school bus places for children, as the bus company says they are “working tirelessly” to try and secure more vehicles and drivers.

During a Dáil debate on special school places, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould raised the issue of transport to schools.

“I have parents crying on the phone to me because their children cannot get to school,” he said, “I had a woman on our meeting last night. Her child has never been to school and the minister of state is telling us about forward planning.

“There are children in Cork who have no bus places to Scoil Éanna, St Paul’s, Scoil Bernadette, Rochestown, Carrigaline, east Cork and Carrignavar. When will those parents have access to buses to bring their children to school?

“I spoke to representatives of Bus Éireann. They will not even take the phone calls from the parents,” he claimed. “It is a disgrace.”

A spokesperson for Bus Éireann told The Echo that it operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth.

“Bus Éireann has issued more than 148,000 tickets to date to mainstream services for 2025/26 school year, an increase of just under 5% of tickets issued compared to last year. The scheme operates in excess of 8,200 vehicles daily on more than 10,600 routes.

“The situation is evolving on a daily basis. 

"As soon as a vehicle and driver has been sourced, and vehicle and driver compliance checks completed, the families will be contacted directly in relation to the re-commencement of their service,” the spokesperson said.

“Where a service is not in place for the start of a new school year, an interim grant is available. Families do not need to make an application; the Department of Education and Youth will be contacting families directly.

“The Bus Éireann School Transport team is working tirelessly to secure transport for the routes in question.”

They added that for parents/guardians seeking to get in touch with their individual queries, there is a dedicated call centre which can be reached at LoCall 0818 919 910, or they can be reached via the webform on buseireann.ie/contact-us.