PARENTS of children from Bantry, who want a bus service to their preferred school in Schull, say they will be taking their concerns to Dáil Éireann, and staging a protest outside its big black gates.
‘We are checking the numbers and organising a date and time for the protest,’ one of the parents, Helen O’Neill, said. She verified that there are currently 29 students enrolled at Schull Community College, who normally reside in Bantry, and there are another 11 students to join them next September. Speaking on behalf of the campaigners, Helen referred to correspondence with the Cork Education and Training Board (Cetb), in which they confirmed that the current enrolment at Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí is 755 but was built, in 2011, for 700 students. According to Helen, some children, including her autistic daughter, Olivia, wished to relocate to Schull because the size of the school is less intimidating for her.
She cited another example in which a boy, who was suffering from trichotillomania – which means he pulls out his hair when he is stressed – has relocated to Schull, and now has a full head of hair.
‘He was begging to move over because he couldn’t cope with the huge crowds in the school in Bantry,’ she said.
‘He wasn’t able to deal with it at all. It was leading to school refusals and meltdowns, but he is a different boy completely since he moved to Schull.’
The principal of the Bantry school, Marian Carey, told The Southern Star that there are very clear rules on school transrpot, and ‘if a parent chooses to send their child to a school that is further away, they are not entitled to school transport.’ She also pointed out that Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí has ‘recalibrated to create new rooms, and a four-room extension has been sanctioned and will commence in the coming year.’
Helen pointed out that they started the bus campaign back in June 2024 and contacted every official and politician they could think of to try and secure a bus service for the students.
‘We are nearly a full school year down at this stage and we have, as yet, got absolutely nowhere, which is why we are taking this to the Dáil,’ she added.
Helen said some children have been given concessionary tickets to use the Durrus to Schull school bus, but this necessitates parents driving 10 minutes to Durrus.
In addition, she estimated that there are about 15 cars going over and back to Schull twice a day, every day, even though some of them are car-pooling.
Ms O’Neill also said the parents have contacted Local Link, but were told it could not provide a school bus service.
They also contacted private bus operators, but had to rule that option out because of the estimated running cost of €350 per day would not be viable for parents.
‘When you have two kids, like I do, it is not affordable, you are going to be spending even more on buses than on petrol or diesel,’ said Helen, who suggested it would be more environmentally sustainable to provide the students with a bus service.
