MORE parts of Inishowen
could get cut off and left without bus services
despite being the only region in Ireland without
public transport, a local councillor last night
warned.
Cllr. Padraig MacLochlainn said the loss of the
Malin Head route "might only be the start".
He was speaking following a meeting in Derry with
the Lough Swilly Bus Company at which the latter
said it would not be reversing its decision to axe
the loss-making Malin/Malin Head route.
"I'm seriously alarmed at being informed that
private transport companies in Donegal including
Lough Swilly Bus Company and North West Busways
receive no subsidy for routes that are not
economically viable because of small numbers of
passengers," said Cllr. MacLochlainn.
Private companies only receive an allowance from the
Department of Social and Family Affairs to subsidise
free bus passes for the elderly and other eligible
passengers.
Cllr MacLochlainn said: "This is a very serious
situation indeed. If the Government do not meet
their responsibilities and subsidise public
transport in North Donegal, then Malin Head will
only be the first community to lose their bus
service.
"Already, there have been amendments to the Clonmany
service that Lough Swilly Bus Company provide
resulting in the loss of a service that facilitated
students getting to third level institutions in
Derry."
The Buncrana-based town and county councillor said
he had to be fair to the company in that they had
lobbied the Government "for years" for help in
subsidising loss-making rural routes.
"Over those years, there have been many redundancies
and reductions in services by the company to ensure
its survival and this decision is just the latest.
"Inishowen is the only area in the entire 26
counties that does not have a national public bus or
rail service.
"This is a clear indication of the neglect of the
pensinsula. That is bad enough but to give private
companies like Lough Swilly Bus Company and North
West Busways no financial support to plug that gap,
is unbelievable," he added.
The Sinn Féin councillor hit out at the subsidies
afforded Bus Eireann who compete with Lough Swilly
Bus Company and North West Busways on one of their
only profitable routes - Derry to Letterkenny.
"It is yet another example of the Government neglect
of Inishowen and North Donegal and I intend to
maintain the pressure on the Government until they
deliver equality of access to citizens in this
region." |
