The seaside village of Ardmore was brought to a standstill last Saturday afternoon as a massive demonstration took place over a lack of school transport to Dungarvan for local children.
The protest campaign doubled its numbers from the previous week, with over 200 people in attendance – approximately 45 percent of the village population.
People gathered in the car park at Ardmore Church where some local parents voiced their frustrations, before the demonstration set off towards the top of the village before returning to the car park. Young school children spearheaded the demonstration through Ardmore’s Main Street, chanting and holding placards.
The demonstration is calling on the government to take urgent action to address school transport for secondary school students in Ardmore who want to go to school in Dungarvan.
There is no state school bus to pick up students in the village of Ardmore to attend school in Dungarvan.
A current bus service picks up children at Kiely’s Cross on the notoriously dangerous N25 – and it becomes even more unsafe as the particular stretch of road is subject to regularly heavy fog and mist. At pick up times, the area is quite busy with parents parking on the hard shoulder and some children crossing the N25 to get to the bus. This solution where children meet the bus at Kiely’s Cross was presented as a “compromise” by the Department of Education, but parents have branded it a “cop-out, not a compromise”.
Many families are coming under immense financial strain by having to pay up to €50 a week for private options to bring their child to school in Dungarvan because they were told the bus which stops at Kiely’s Cross is now full. The cost of the school bus scheme is €75 per year.
There are many other rural areas in the country which are experiencing difficulties with school transport and the parents in Ardmore believe this indicative of how the government supports rural communities and whether they will abide by their own Rural Development Strategy.
COMMENTS BY PARENTS
A local parent, Anto Howard, addressing the crowd, said parents in Ardmore have had a week of trying to get their children to school, a week of chaos, confusion and expense.
He described the “madness of Kiely’s Cross” which included heavy fog one morning, lots of traffic and even a coach doing a u-turn on one of the busiest and most dangerous stretches of the N25.
“Other parents, who were told the Kiely’s Cross bus was full, have felt the first sting in their pocket, having to fork out €40 per child for the private bus,” said Anto.
He said a public school bus is needed in Ardmore – “A safe place to pick up our children and it needs to have room for every child going to a Dungarvan school – and that means a coach with 45 to 50 available seats arriving in Ardmore”.
“It’s no good bringing a bus into the village and then telling a bunch of children ‘sorry, there’s no room for you’,” said Anto.
He pointed out the Kiely’s Cross bus is completely useless to those parents who don’t have a car “and these are the people who need a public bus most of all – it’s their only option!”.
Mary Lincoln has lived in Ardmore for 46 years. She attended the protest to support her grandchildren and neighbours.
“It is unbelievable really; I think about all the changes I have seen in my lifetime and all the progress the country has made. But here we are, fighting for something so basic as a bus to bring children to school,” said Mary.
“To thrive Ardmore needs its young people and the Department of Education should be doing everything they can to support them and their parents.”
Brenda Griffin one of the organisers of both protests went to school in Dungarvan 20 years ago and her parents had to bear the burden of expensive private buses.
Brenda believes it is shocking that no progress has been made on this issue for the rural community of Ardmore in two decades and the government must act.
“At present our choice seems to be a dangerous bus or no bus, surely we can do better for our children,” said Brenda.
“We hear a lot from this government about supporting rural communities. A Fine Gael press release on 4 April, 2024 touted Simon Harris as a champion of rural and farming communities, but here we are months later marching to get the kids in this rural area to school!” Brenda added.
McGUINNESS ADDRESSES CROWD
Sinn Féin councillor and general election candidate Conor D. McGuinness, who attended with Waterford TD Deputy David Cullinane, also addressed the crowd at the car park.
He said responsibility for school transport lies with the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, Fianna Fáil.
“I am reiterating my call for her to intervene urgently to solve this crisis,” Cllr. McGuinness said.
“Minister Foley is currently sitting on a review of school transport prepared by her Department that very clearly recommends that the ‘nearest school’ criteria is eliminated and that the change should apply from the start of the 2024/25 school year. The Minister’s own report recommends that new routes should be based on parental demand, yet she and her Department have steadfastly refused to listen to parents,” he said.
“I am calling on her to come to Ardmore, to meet with parents, to listen to their concerns and to solve this issue now. This situation is another example of the indifference that this government has for rural communities and for Co. Waterford in particular.
“I will continue to advocate for a full public school bus service for Ardmore, and to stand up for Co. Waterford at local and national level,” Cllr. McGuinness added.
KIELY’S CROSS SAFETY AUDIT
Meanwhile, local Councillor Tom Cronin revealed that the safety audit / inspection is due to be carried out by Gardaí in the coming weeks.
Speaking to The Munster Express and other media at Ardmore last Saturday afternoon, Cllr. Cronin said both he and Minister Mary Butler were in contact with the local Garda Superintendent, who informed them that a Sergeant has been appointed to carry out the inspection.
“We are hoping that the Gardaí will come up with a proper assessment of safety at Kiely’s Cross and with a bit of luck, CIE might be forced to change the pick-up point from Kiely’s Cross,” Cllr. Cronin said.
Kiely’s Cross is a notoriously busy section of the N25 and there have been numerous collisions over the years and at least one fatality at the location.
Cllr. Cronin warned that if there was any type of a tragic incident at that school bus pick-up point at Kiely’s Cross, “it would leave CIE in a bad place”.
He said he believed the safety audit would take approximately a month to complete and it should begin straight away.
OTHER SOLUTION
Cllr. Cronin pointed out there is another pick-up point further down the N25 at Grange. He suggested a connection with Local Link which could bring the children to the pick-up point in Grange if they won’t send a school bus into Ardmore.
“But the ultimate solution is to have the bus come into Ardmore to pick up the school children,” Cllr. Cronin added.
PAUL MOONEY REPORTS
