Boy seriously injured in fall from school bus

A seven-year-old boy is being treated for serious head injuries following an incident on a school bus in Co Roscommon yesterday.

The child fell out the emergency door of the bus while it was travelling between Boyle and Ballyfarnan and is in a critical but stable condition in Sligo General Hospital.

Bus Éireann has insisted that the vehicle was in full working order, but the incident raises further questions about the safety of the company's school-bus fleet.

Yesterday, one of its school buses was engulfed in flames before it began picking up Junior and Leaving Cert students in Garristown, Co Meath.

Five schoolgirls died when their bus overturned in nearby Kentstown four weeks ago.

Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell has responded to the latest incidents by calling for new rules to ensure that buses that reach a certain age are automatically removed from the fleet.