Bus Éireann proposal for Mayo schools will lead to chaos claim councillors

Mayo councillors have lambasted Bus Éireann for proposing a drop-off and pick-up point for students from two Castlebar secondary schools at a location close to a 20-minute walk from both schools.

Parents of students from St Joseph's Secondary School and Davitt College in Castlebar who take the bus to school were informed by the School Transport Team of Bus Éireann on Monday that from autumn 2025 it is proposed to that the pick-up/drop-off location may be changed to Stephen Garvey Way in Castlebar.

The current pick-up/drop-off point for both schools is the carpark at Davitt College but the management of the Castlebar school informed Bus Éireann earlier this year that they were not happy to continue this arrangement due to an insurance concerns regarding students from St Joseph's Secondary School getting off on their school grounds.

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The proposed new location at Stephen Garvey Way is approximately a 20 minute walk to both schools and local councillors expressed outrage that it would even be considered.

Cathaoirleach of the Castlebar Municipal District, Cllr Donna Sheridan said that there is no reason why the school bus should not still arrive at Davitt College and an alternative location be sought close to St Joseph's for their students.

“This is affecting a lot of families and children around this town,” she told the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District this afternoon.

“You will have children in some instances who have to travel two kilometres to get to a bus and when they arrive into town there will be huge numbers in Stephen Garvey Way walking to the two schools.

“The facility is still there for the Davitt College students as it always has been and additional facilities need to be developed for St Joseph's. Nobody is questioning that but you cannot disenfranchise all the students in this town when one school has the parking facilities and now they are all being sent up to the middle of town. It is not acceptable,” she said.

All the councillors were in agreement that from a safety point of view, having the drop-off/pick-up point at Stephen Garvey Way cannot be allowed to happen and that Bus Éireann should be informed that their proposal is a danger and will lead to chaos.

Cllr Sheridan proposed the council write to Bus Éireann expressing their opposition to the proposal and that an alternative location should be found for the students of St Joseph's.

“This is the busiest time of the year for schools and for an email like that to go to parents without informing the school is shocking,” she added.

The main bus stop for public buses in Castlebar is currently located along Stephen Garvey Way and Independent councillor Harry Barrett said it is already dangerous for pedestrians without having to add hundreds of students.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne added that when parents contacted Bus Éireann to complain about the change in location, they received a response stating that their query needs to be directed to the school as it was the schools decision to change the location and not Bus Éireann. He rejected this response saying that the schools knew nothing about any change of location until after the email was sent.

Cllr Sheridan agreed stating that staff from Davitt College should not be expected to supervise students from another school on their ground.

Cllr Cyril Burke said the issue which has to be solved was finding a drop-off and pick-up point for St Joseph's students while his Fine Gael party colleague, Cllr Ger Deere felt that there was enough ground around St Joseph's for buses and the onus was on them to find a solution.

David Mellett, Head of the Municipal District told the councillors that the council management were not informed of the proposal to use Stephen Garvey Way and they would not be in favour of it due to safety concerns.

He added the council did meet with St Joseph's last year to find potential solutions and a few options were identified for them to look at.