South Roscommon the ‘poor relation’ for Local Link service

South Roscommon has been described as the “poor relation” when it comes to the provision of Local Link bus services in the county.

The remarks were made by Fianna Fáil councillor John Keogh following a presentation by Local Link representatives to the elected members of Roscommon County Council at a recent plenary meeting.

Cllr John Keogh said it was great to see the Local Link services being rolled out in the county but felt that, apart from a particular Galway service, the south of the county was the “poor relation” when it came to the provision of services.

“There is a great service in the rest of the county, but there is an entire area in South Roscommon that doesn’t get the service, in my view,” he said.

He said he wanted to highlight the issue and wondered if there are any plans to expand the services in the south of the county.

“We are trying to get people out of their cars, so I would hope that it is something that could be delivered on,” he said.

Fine Gael councillor Valerie Duffy pointed out that about a year ago, the TFI Galway route 548 was introduced, taking in places such as Moore, Drum, and Clonown, and linking up to Athlone.

“I can’t stress how transformational it has been for many people, particularly for students, young and older people,” she said.

Cllr Duffy said the logical step now was to provide bus shelters.

She also spoke about the need to expand services in South Roscommon, given that the county had an ageing population. “It’s important to look at routes in places like Taughmaconnell and Curraghboy, along with wheelchair access as well,” she said.

Independent councillor Emer Kelly welcomed all the good work Local Link was doing in the county, but said there was a gap in the network. “A greater frequency of service is needed in South Roscommon,” she said.

Cllr Kelly spoke about how people her own age in other places use the Local Link service to get to and from the pub at the weekends. She highlighted the importance of how a local bus service keeps businesses alive in rural areas.

Independent councillor Tony Ward said he was involved in setting up a car transport scheme in the Brideswell/Curraghboy/Kiltoom area about 25 years ago.

He said a review took place around that time which led to services being cut in South Roscommon.

“I’ll give you one example,” he said. “We had a community car, we had drivers driving on a voluntary basis, and the community car was used to take people to medical appointments, and there was a small fee of €5.

“And for the sake of €1,500 to €1,800, that service was pulled and never replaced.”

Independent councillor Laurence Fallon said it was clear from the Local Link presentation that the service was working and was needed in North Roscommon.

“But our problem in South Roscommon is that we don’t have a service. If we had a service, it would be working because we have quite a lot of old people in South Roscommon, as we have in every other part of the county. “The important thing is that we now have proof that the service works. South Roscommon is deficient and there is no service, as the other speakers have already said.”

Cllr Fallon suggested that the issue be further discussed at the next Athlone Municipal District meeting to establish what services might be feasible and what plan should be put in place in order to look for funding.

He also noted that the need for shelters at existing bus stops was another issue causing considerable concern.

Damien O’Neill, manager of the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Local Link bus service for Longford, Roscommon, and Westmeath, told councillors that there were no plans for new services this year.

He advised the elected members to lobby for more funding for public transport services.

“The main thing is we need additional funding for public transport in Ireland, whether it’s Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, or TFI Local Link,” he said.

Mr O’Neill said he and his colleagues would continue to work towards feeding existing services into more rural areas.

The other Local Link representatives who attended the plenary meeting in February were Joe Greally from TFI Local Link Galway, and John Carr from TFI Local Link Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.

Cathaoirleach, Liam Callaghan, who is the Roscommon representative on the Local Link Board, introduced the Local Link representatives before the presentation. He explained that they were invited to explain how the services operated, the level of funding involved, and the procurement of the contracts for the different companies.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme