School bus crash - Parents want action, not excuses

There is absolutely no reason why the Government should have to wait for the reports of the three investigations into Monday’s tragic school bus crash before deciding on any new investment in the fleet, as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern asserted yesterday.

One is not dependent on the other, although the grounds for those investigations may well be a consequence of the already inordinate delay by the Government in addressing concerns over the school bus fleet.

The reports may well point to several factors which caused the crash, but it is unacceptable for the Government to procrastinate any longer on this crucial issue on the spurious grounds that their conclusions will influence its decision on the fleet.