Galway Bay fm newsroom - This week's meeting of Galway County Council heard renewed calls for the re-instatement of the Galway to Dublin bus route that had been providing a service in the east of the county.
Councillors from the Ballinasloe and Loughrea areas stated that the ending of the service this week was a serious blow to commuters and a backward step for rural Ireland.
Another kick for rural Ireland is how Councillor Ivan Canning from Portumna described the decision by Bus Éireann to end the hourly bus service that took in the towns and villages of east Galway. Councillor Jimmy McClearn said that cities now seemed to be all important and that rural Ireland is the poor relation.
Ballinasloe and Loughrea area Councillors such as Dermot Connolly, Pat Hynes, Shane Curley, Michael ‘Mogie’ Maher and P.J. Murphy all spoke against the change to the bus service.
Councillor Evelyn Parsons said it was a strange decision given the policy of keeping as many cars as possible on the roads low and Councillor Geraldine Donohue expressed concern for students traveling to and from Galway city. She said they could now be left for a lengthy period waiting for transport at the Galway station.
Councillor Alistar McKinstry suggested that Bus Éireann be invited to the County Council to explain the reasoning behind the decision.
County Cathaoirleach, Peter Keaveney urged all Councillors to contact their Dáil and Seanad colleagues in a an effort to have the decision reversed.
