School bus ticket turmoil once again for Kilkenny children left without a seat

A local father says his family have been left high and dry after all four of his children have been refused a concessionary school bus ticket.

Richie Grant is in Knockmoylan in South Kilkenny and for the third year in a row, they’ve been turned down for a place on the bus to primary school.

The concessionary tickets are issued on a lottery basis and KCLR News understands tens of children are affected in Kilkenny alone.

Speaking to KCLR, Richie says it’s not fair on rural families:

“What’s going on now is not good enough in this day and age. I was on that route 30 years ago and I had no problem in getting a bus ticket.

“In this day and age it’s just not good enough. This is going on for three years now… My brother, he was badly impacted – I’m a farmer and I ended up bringing some of his children down to the school.

“Only for I was there, I don’t know what they would have done… There’s a bus passing by the gate that’s not going to pick them up.”

Meanwhile, South Kilkenny TD, Bobby Aylward says they fought hard to try and resolve this issue last year and he was led to believe there was going to be a timely solution:

“We’re back to square one as far as I’m concerned. I thought we had some solution being proposed by the minister, John Halligan, before we broke up [for the summer].

“I met Minister Halligan three times in the corridors in Leinster House. I spoke to him and he told me that proposals were coming forward and that he’d let me know.

“He said at one stage that he’d let me know before the recess and we’re no further along the line.”