Eamon Ryan told Donegal is ‘failed dismally’ by Bus Éireann

The Minister for Transport has been told that Bus Éireann is ‘failing this county dismally’.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan was in Donegal on Friday afternoon. At a meeting with Donegal County Councillors in Lifford, Minister Ryan was informed of several issues with the state-owned operator.

In his opening address at the County House, Minister Ryan acknowledged that Donegal ‘is not connected to the rest of the Republic properly’.

“It has been failed,” he said. “We should champion and address the fundamental lack of connection.”

Letterkenny-based Fine Gael Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh highlighted his personal experience in using Bus Éireann.

“The service is very inadequate for disabled people,” Councillor Kavanagh said. “At the minute, you basically need to give a 48-hour warning that you’re going to be on the bus. On six occasions in 2023, I was in the company of someone who has a disability and used Bus Éireann to get to a medical appointment.

“Bus Éireann managed to get it right one day. On three occasions, a non-accessible bus turned up. On the other two, a driver was not trained to use the lift. It is a real problem.”

Councillor Kavanagh said he was aware of at least one person having to take a taxi from Letterkenny in order to make a flight from Dublin Airport.

Minister Ryan said: “We can’t have a service that is not accessible. That is just not tolerable.”

Fianna Fáil Councillor Patrick McGowan told how he has witnessed people being ‘left behind’ on Bus Éireann services.

“I was at Dublin Airport on one occasion and came out to a queue for the bus to Letterkenny and what I witnessed can only be described as calamity,” Councillor McGowan said. “When I saw the stewards lining up, I just knew that it would be a panic. It was: ‘Don’t put your cases in. Don’t do that’. It reminded me of the Americans leaving Iraq and people just hanging onto the plane.

“We don’t have enough busses and we don’t have enough drivers. Years ago, there was a list of standby drivers, but we don’t have that anymore.

“Bus Éireann has been told before that they need more busses, particularly double decker busses, and more drivers. We never get an explanation from them. Donegal is the most unconnected county in the country.”

His party colleague, Rena Donaghey, said Bus Éireann ‘doesn’t ever and hasn’t ever come into Inishowen’.

“Our children have difficulty in getting to third level education in Letterkenny or Derry,” Councillor Donaghey said. “Some students going to Derry have to leave their university before the last class to get the bus back home. That is just the reality of it and it is just not satisfactory.”

An increase to the Local Link services was noted as one possible solution.

Minister Ryan vowed to take the concerns back to Bus Éireann bosses.