BREAKING: Beara parents get their bus – for at least three years

THERE was very positive news following a meeting this afternoon between West Cork politicians and Minister Anne Rabbitte, which solved a long running issue for Beara parents.

TD Christopher O'Sullivan (FF) and Sen Tim Lombard (FG) confirmed to The Southern Star that the private bus connection from Beara for Bantry disability services has been guaranteed for three years.

The bus service is also being extended to include Ardgroom and will drop service users to the doors of the relevant services in Bantry.

The bus was sought to provide an essential transport link for service users of Bantry’s National Learning Network, CoAction, the West Cork Sudbury School and Youthreach.

Parents and service users had complained that the regular bus only stopped at the Square in Bantry, with the passengers having to make their own way to their services. And the timetable left them waiting for a few hours on a Friday for a pick-up.

As well as discovering that the bus would not deliver the students to the door of their services, they also realised that the regular bus from Eyeries would miss the connecting bus by 40 minutes.

But that issue has now been resolved, with agreement that the bus journey will begin in Ardgroom and bring passengers to the doors of their respected services in Bantry.

Hartnett’s private bus was provided last year after St Vincent de Paul and Beara West Family Resource Centre stepped in with a donation of €7,600 and a grant of €3,600 respectively, but when funding ran out, the parents asked the State to provide a service.

But the bus provided fell short of the requirements, regarding its scheduling, and drop-off and collection points.

Today’s meeting means that funding for the previous, private bus arrangement has been provided for a period of three years.