Tag Archives: bus eireann

CLARE Sinn Féin TD, Violet-Anne Wynne, has called on the Department of Education to immediately clarify the finer details around the July provision transportation grant. “I have been contacted by a number of families who are still in the dark in terms of when this grant will be paid. In this unprecedented time of Covid-19 families are forced to budget every penny of their household income to ensure they can keep going. Every year the department would have normally supplied transport via a contract through Bus Eireann, this year that was stopped due to Covid-19, leaving families to have to arrange their own transport to and from schools,” Deputy Wynne stated. “While parents were happy to arrange same, they have since been left in the dark by the department on when they will be able to reclaim these expenses from the grant scheme. Some parents have told me how they have been making round trips of 130km twice a day …

BUS Éireann services at Shannon have been very poor in the recent past, with buses sometimes not coming at all, but management have promised improvements are on the way. At this week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District members, a deputation from Bus Éireann attended and were told in no uncertain terms that local service users have had serious problems. Sinn Féin’s Councillor Mike McKee said that he has had numerous messages from local people about the standard of service. While he said there have been many efforts to get people to use public transport, for these to succeed, the services “must be efficient, punctual and affordable and it is none of those”. Regarding affordability, he said what Bus Éireann offers is far too expensive. “It’s absolutely ridiculous, the price of it. It’s over €10 return from Shannon to Limerick and back.” An equivalent journey on the continent would be far less pricey, he added. Councillor McKee said that what he …

FAMILY is the focus of this year’s Limerick Solemn Novena, in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. People may have seen Our Lady on a double decker bus recently and no, their eyes are not deceiving them. The advertisement is part of a multimedia promotional campaign for the annual novena, which takes place from June 16 to 24 at the Redemptorist Church, Limerick. The novena is the biggest religious event in the Mid-West. Up to 10,000 people a day are expected to attend. The theme of this year’s novena, Home is You and Me, is marriage and family life. “The definition of family isn’t as simple as it was in the past,” explains novena director, Fr Seamus Enright, C.Ss.R. “As well as married couples, there are couples who are living together, lone parents, couples who are divorced and remarried, same sex couples, single people living on their own and so on. This variety of family combinations brings a lot …

Bus Éireann passengers in County Clare have been making alternative travel plans today as an-all out strike is underway. Among those discommoded are people who normally use bus services to get to work and those who travel from rural areas to Ennis for shopping and business. One regular Bus Éireann passenger from West Clare told The Clare Champion he was unable to make it to work today, which had serious implications for him and his employer. Bus Éireann services across the country stopped at midnight after drivers refused to work under the threat of pay cuts. Management at the transport firm are warning they need to plug a multi-million euro hole in their finances, but their claim that there’s ‘no basis’ for talks led to unions escalating their action. Unions representing drivers say members will engage in all-out indefinite strike until their greviences are addressed. Unions are in dispute with the company over cuts to pay, the casualisation of work and the …

Bus Éireann is to stand down school transport services when Status Red weather alerts are issued nationally or regionally. This is part of a new policy put in place in the interest of pupil safety, and in line with advice issued by State bodies regarding actions required during these rare warnings. This has been communicated to parents of pupils who avail of these services – via email or letter – and the full policy is available on www.buseireann.ie/StatusRed. Bus Éireann operate the School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills (DoES), and there has been significant consultation with the department regarding this new policy. Met Éireann recommends that in the event of a Status Red Weather Warning families “take action to protect themselves and/or their properties; this could be by moving their families out of the danger zone temporarily; by staying indoors; or by other specific actions aimed at mitigating the effects of the weather conditions.” …

ENNIS students are being stranded because of restrictions on a bus route service being operated between Ennis and Limerick, it has been claimed. An online petition has been started on the Ennis Forum Facebook page calling for Dublin Coach to once again be allowed to drop passengers at Arthur’s Quay at morning rush hour or collect them from the Limerick stop in the evening peak. With students returning to college in Limerick this month, the restrictions to the company’s licence from the National Transport Authority has led to visitors to the Ennis Forum describing it as “disgraceful”, with calls for the service to return According to one post, students who have turned up to get the bus have been told that they cannot get off at Arthur’s Quay because of the licence restrictions, leaving them late for classes. Clare Fianna Fáil TD and party transport spokesperson Timmy Dooley is now calling on the National Transport Authority to explain why it …

Clare bus drivers were “shocked” by the indiscriminate murder of Athlone-based bus inspector, Laurence Hayes and his wife, Martina, according to a local councillor. Laurence and Martina, who were in their 50s, were on holiday in the resort of Sousse in Tusinia last week, when they were among the 38 victims killed by terrorist, Seifeddine Rezgui. Meath woman, Lorna Carty was also killed in the attack. Martina came from a large, well-respected farming family in Kiltoom, County Roscommon, not far from Athlone. The couple, who are survived by daughter, Sinead,  lived in West Lodge, an estate on the western side of the Shannon in Athlone. A Bus Éireann employee, Councillor Tony O’Brien, who knew Mr Hayes personally, said it was “incomprehensible” what had happened to the couple. He said the couple had packed their bags and were waiting for a bus to go home, when they were brutally murdered. Describing Mr Hayes as a “very witty, chatty and friendly” colleague, who loved life, Councillor …

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Transport, Timmy Dooley has cautioned the Government that they must work with bus unions to avert planned strikes by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann workers. Members of SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union are planning to hold two 48-hour stoppages on May 1 and 2 and May 15 and 16 in a row over the privatisation of bus routes. Deputy Dooley commented, “The Government, and Minister Paschal Donohoe in particular, needs to take whatever action is necessary to prevent these strikes from going ahead. The timing is particularly serious as it will affect tens of thousands of commuters, passengers and tourists on a busy bank holiday weekend. The fact that major rail engineering works are planned for that same weekend, resulting in the cancellation of a number of DART services and the closure of certain train stations adds to the imposition on travellers. “Commuters are understandably annoyed at the prospect of another strike. A previous strike in August …