{"id":410194,"date":"2026-03-29T16:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/410194\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T16:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:09:08","slug":"cancelled-expressway-bus-route-was-essential-says-kilkenny-mother-of-visually-impaired-siblings-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/410194\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancelled Expressway bus route \u2018was essential\u2019, says Kilkenny mother of visually impaired siblings \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mother with two visually impaired young adult children has described the move by Bus \u00c9ireann<\/a> to cancel one of three routes across the country \u201cas ending their lifeline and independence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fiona McCusker, a single mother who lives in Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny, has three children, two of whom have albinism. Megan (22) and James (19) depend on the service as no train services or private bus operators cover the area they live in. <\/p>\n

Bus \u00c9ireann is to cease operating three of its Expressway services<\/a> from Sunday May 24th. The services that are to be withdrawn include Waterford-Dublin\/Dublin Airport (Route 4), Rosslare\/Wexford-Waterford (Route 40 Segment), and Ballina-Galway (Route 52).<\/p>\n

The bus operator has blamed \u201csignificant\u201d financial losses that the services are accruing for the decision to axe the routes.<\/p>\n

McCusker, a nurse in St Luke\u2019s General Hospital in Kilkenny, said: \u201cThis route isn\u2019t just a convenience for us, it\u2019s essential. My two visually impaired young adults rely on this service every day, especially as I work Monday to Friday and cannot always be there to bring them where they need to go. They will never be able to drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecisions like this completely overlook rural communities and people with additional needs. It\u2019s taking away the little bit of independence they have. <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir lives revolved around Ballyhale and having such a bus service helped them gain some of their own independence. There has to be more consideration for those who depend on public transport as a lifeline, not a luxury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her son James will be starting college in the South East Technological University Carlow in September and was depending on the bus. He also helps out with Vision Ireland in Dublin, as does Megan. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I had them both sorted with college and work access,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if I can get them to the train in Kilkenny city or Thomastown, the timetable won\u2019t work. Plus, because of the condition they live with, they find it very difficult to see things, such as seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames and Megan with their mother Fiona McCusker <\/p>\n

Local Fianna F\u00e1il TD Peter \u201cChap\u201d Cleere described the move as \u201ca serious blow to communities\u201d across Carlow and Kilkenny.<\/p>\n

Cleere said the route is \u201ca vital link for workers, students and families who rely on affordable, reliable public transport every day\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when people are already under pressure from rising costs, removing daily services and cutting off key stops in our towns and villages is deeply concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents travelling to college, people commuting to work and those accessing healthcare or Dublin Airport will all be impacted. We need solutions, not further isolation of rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Party colleague Cllr Deirdre Cullen described the move as a blow for rural connectivity. She said <\/p>\n

that \u201con the one hand we are to encourage more use of public transport and to leave the car at home, if you have a car, but then see options reduced and taking this choice away for many. To make matters worse, it\u2019s coming at a time when petrol and diesel prices are soaring.\u201d <\/p>\n

She is calling on Minister for Transport Darragh O\u2019Brien and the National Transport Authority to install a replacement bus service for the Dublin to Waterford Expressway Route 4 as a matter of urgency. <\/p>\n

The transport authority has been notified about the move.<\/p>\n

Bus \u00c9ireann were contacted for further comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mother with two visually impaired young adult children has described the move by Bus \u00c9ireann to cancel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[2786,79,11021,18,18175,70,19,18929,17,71,184056,8820,3812,184829,1545],"class_list":["post-410194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-asia","tag-business","tag-conflict","tag-eire","tag-hezbollah","tag-idf","tag-ie","tag-iran","tag-ireland","tag-israel","tag-lebanese","tag-middle-east","tag-netanyahu","tag-port-cities","tag-war"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116313336346882556","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}