Schoolgirls left stranded as greater capacity called for Kildare school bus
The Ardclough to Celbridge (St Wolstan's Community School) service is reported to be running 'at capacity'
An Ardclough, Co Kildare mum is calling on Bus Éireann to increase capacity on its school bus service running from Ardclough to Celbridge so that her two daughters may continue attending school.
Elaine Dunne's two daughters have availed of the Bus Éireann school bus service from Ardclough to St Wolstan's Community School in Celbridge for the past two years without difficulty.
However, they have both been refused places for this September due to the service running at capacity.
According to Elaine, she was given just one month's notice that her daughters would not be accommodated this coming school term, despite her having applied within the required time frame.
Elaine claims that a number of incoming first-year students to St Wolstan's have received places on the service, while existing students who used the service in previous years have been refused.
She says she is aware of “at least 10” children from Ardclough and Straffan who are affected by the service's shortfall.
“A particular frustration is that our children are classified as concessionary passengers”, Elaine tells The Leinster Leader.
“Although we live in County Kildare and attended primary school in Ardclough, the Bus Éireann portal identifies Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole as our nearest school (8km away).
“In reality, my daughters would never obtain places there. Its admissions criteria prioritise pupils from feeder schools in Rathcoole and Newcastle, siblings of existing students and applicants living in its Dublin catchment area. St Wolstan’s is the nearest girls’ secondary school available to us (11km away).
“This raises an important question: why does the School Transport Scheme determine eligibility using a 'nearest school' calculation that does not reflect the Department of Education’s school-admissions system?”
Elaine says there is significant impact on her family due to the issue with the Bus Éireann service, and that her own working hours may now have to change to facilitate her daughters' school commute.
The Ardclough mum has appealed Bus Éireann's decision, and has contacted a number of local TDs and councillors over the issue.
While she says the criteria for bus ticket eligibility requires patrons to live more than 4.8km from the school, Elaine points out that in fact she lives some 11km away, in Ardclough.
Fianna Gael TD for Kildare North, Joe Neville said when contacted by The Leinster Leader: “Mrs Dunne contacted my office in relation to the issue she has with her daughters' school transport. My office is now following up on this query with Bus Éireann and the Department for Education and Youth.
“I can fully appreciate the stress on all parents over Kildare North who may not have secured a bus ticket so far for their children for the upcoming school year. I believe that there should be priority for children who have previously been awarded a bus ticket on a route and also for younger siblings who join the route.
“Each year there seems to arise an issue with the school bus transport ticketing issue, and I think that Bus Éireann needs to improve its allocation methods as well as flagging issues to parents more than two weeks prior to returning to school.”
Bus Éireann stated: “Bus Éireann operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. Children are eligible for Post Primary transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department of Education and Youth/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
“For the school year 2025/26, Bus Éireann provided transport for over 181,000 pupils nationwide. Over 130,000 tickets have been issued for mainstream pupils for the 26/27 school year and will continue to issue over the coming weeks. All pupils who are eligible for school transport, who complied with applications/payment deadlines and where a route exists are being facilitated with transport. Non-eligible children who complete the application and pay or enter their medical card details on time will be considered for any spare seats after all eligible pupils have been accommodated. When demand exceeds available capacity, non-eligible seats will not be available. Families will receive a “no seat” notification through the Bus Éireann online portal and a letter from Bus Éireann. Where demand exceeds availability for non-eligible seats, a selection process is used to allocate any spare seats.
“The policy and guidelines relating to the school transport scheme are set by the Department of Education and Youth. Full details of the school transport schemes are available on the Department of Education and Youth’s website www.gov.ie/schooltransport”