Government need to be pressed on unreliable Bus Éireann service - Donegal TD claims
'Services being cancelled last minute and buses not showing up'
An unreliable bus service to the county from Dublin by Bus Éireann was raised in the Dáil after a Donegal Deputy told the Transport Minister they were providing an unreliable service.
The comments were made by TD Thomas Pringle, who said that the Government themselves had to take steps to ensure Bus Éireann met the demand for services between Donegal and Dublin.
He is one of a number of Independent Deputies, who are also set to back the Sinn Féin 'vote of no confidence' motion in the current coalition government on Tuesday next.
He told Transport Minister Eamon Ryan in the Dáil:
“I have been contacted by many constituents in recent months regarding ongoing issues with Bus Éireann. The bus service has become completely unreliable, with services being cancelled last minute and buses not showing up.
“This particularly affects my constituency of Donegal as we have no train service and the bus is the only form of public transport available,” he said. Deputy Pringle was speaking during Questions on Policy or Legislation.
The deputy said: “In just one day an incredible six services between Dublin and Donegal were cancelled. I’ve been contacted by people who have missed important appointments, people who have missed work and people who have missed flights due to this.
“This is completely unacceptable and frankly it would not be allowed to happen anywhere else, so why is it being allowed to happen to Donegal?
“This problem is further exacerbated by the current situation at the airport. The Donegal/Dublin service is already struggling to meet demand, with every single bus jam-packed. When just one service is cancelled it creates an incredible backlog of people waiting to travel. When as many as six are cancelled it causes total mayhem,” he said.
Deputy Pringle asked: “Will you get on to the National Transport Authority and to Bus Éireann to ensure that the services meet the demand?”
In response, Minister Ryan said he will follow up and report back to Deputy Pringle.