O’Dea attacks colleague in school bus row

THE Limerick school bus row sparked open political warfare among Fianna Fáil ministers yesterday.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea attacked junior minister Síle de Valera’s handling of the issue, saying it had embarrassed him.

He warned the issue was seriously damaging the party politically in the two Limerick constituencies.

More than 50 first-year secondary students living in Clarina, which borders Limerick East and West, have been refused school bus transport to schools in Pallaskenry and Askeaton as they are in the Limerick City catchment area.

Mr O’Dea said: “This arrangement for children in this area has been in place for a long time. Pallaskenry is the natural place for most of them to go to school.”

In a strong rebuke of Ms de Valera, who is in charge of school transport, Mr O’Dea said: “I am disappointed and embarrassed this has dragged on. I have spoken to (Education Minister) Mary Hanafin, to the Taoiseach and Síle de Valera. I have not given up on it yet and dialogue is still ongoing and I want to maintain that dialogue.”

He said when he was junior minister in charge of school transport, he never had to reverse a decision at the request of the minister.

“But if the minister asked me to do so, I would not have hesitated. I approached Mary Hanafin and she said she asked Síle de Valera if she would change her mind. She has done so on several occasions, but Síle de Valera said she is not changing her mind,” he said.

He raised the matter with Ms de Valera at this week’s party meeting in Cavan.

He said: “She seemed totally adamant, and had no notion of changing her mind. Mary Hanafin does not want to overrule her as this would make Síle de Valera’s position untenable.

“It is causing serious political damage. It will have to come to a conclusion by next week. The proper political decision has not been taken. I have made that point forcibly at the highest level.”

Fine Gael TD Michael Noonan said Ministers O’Dea and Hanafin should stop asking Ms de Valera to change her mind.

He said: “They should just tell her to do it. It is like in any job, Mary Hanafin is the boss and Síle de Valera is her junior. They should tell her she is making a mistake and ask her to change and if not, tell her ‘I am instructing you to do so’.”

Parents, at a meeting on Wednesday night, decided to draw up a petition which they will bring to the Dáil next Wednesday with more than 10,000 names.

Parent leader Mary Corby said: “We are going to go ahead with different protests. There will be more surprises for government politicians in the next few days.”