Hundreds of pupils bused to school illegally

The Sentinel can today reveal the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) has vowed to stop the practice by cancelling all contracts with bus companies from the Republic of Ireland (ROI) after receiving advice from the Department of the Environment (DoE) this month.

The suspension will take effect on Saturday, the Sentinel has learned. It follows advice from the Department of the Environment (DoE) which was considered at WELB’s monthly meeting on June 14.

The shake-up comes after Bready busman William Leonard forced the DoE into a major U-turn over the uninhibited influx of Donegal firms into Londonderry with Minister Alex Atwood now admitting that the free-for-all does not comply with European Law.

Last year the Sentinel was the only newspaper to cover Mr Leonard’s battle to protect his business from the encroachment of southern firms.

The DoE told the Sentinel then that the practice was kosher but Mr Leonard insisted it breached arcane ‘cabotage’ regulations that deal with haulage and bus transport in the EU.

Mr Leonard argued that under EU directive EC 1073/2009 there may have been grounds for refusing Donegal firms if a service seriously affected the viability of a comparable service here operated under one or more public service contracts.

The DoE told him he was wrong but now Mr Attwood - after taking extensive legal advice - has admitted he was right and has moved to close the legal loop hole.

But Mr Leonard told the Sentinel that the achievement of the DoE U-turn was all but a pyrrhic victory for both him and a number of other Londonderry bus firms.

He said he has been practically forced out of business as a result of the encroachment of southern firms and fears the DoE and WELB will now move to regularise Donegal firms operating Home to School contracts in Northern Ireland.

“I was sitting with 14 vehicles and now I may as well have none,” said Mr Leonard. “I’m just struggling along. There are three companies alone who have gone out of business and others are just struggling along.”

Mr Leonard claims to have employed up to 16 people - drivers and mechanics - in the summer of 2011. Now he’s down to a couple of employees including himself.

“They are walking over the top of us,” he said. “The DoE should be telling schools that this is illegal. If I’m using an illegal taxi I’ll be taken off the road. That should happen here.”

The Federation of Passenger Transport NI (FPTNI) has estimated that at least 50 schools in the Londonderry area use firms from across the border and that this is threatening to put local operators out of business.

In the past two weeks did Mr Attwood acknowledged the DoE’s change of heart was primarily concerned with ensuring that all bus journeys in Northern Ireland were safe and complied with all relevant laws.

He said he had made the judgement with the primacy of children’s safety and parents needs in mind.

Now WELB has also recognised the current practice is illegal under EU law and has agreed to suspend all contracts with ROI firms.

A spokesperson for WELB said: “Following recent advice from the Department of Environment, home to school transport services provided by transport operators from the Republic of Ireland have been deemed not to comply with EU requirements.

“The transport issue is in relation to European Community (EC) regulations, whereby transport operators who hold a licence in one EU member state are also temporarily allowed to run national passenger services in another member state without needing to have a registered office or other establishment in that state. To do this, the operators need a Community licence and a certified copy must be kept in their vehicles.

“Following changes in these EC regulations the Board has been in contact with the Department of Education (DE) and the Department of Environment (DoE) and has received recent clarification on the position when non-NI transport operators provide a service where the passengers are fully transported within Northern Ireland.

“The advice states that transport operators from the RoI cannot provide Home to School Transport in NI, without being registered in NI and having been issued with a Road Service Licence by the Drivers and Vehicles Agency (DVA).

“The DoE advice was tabled for discussion at the monthly meeting of the WELB on Thursday, June 14 2012. The meeting also appraised of arrangements being proposed by the DoE to enable transport operators from the RoI to be re-instated to operate in NI.

“In order to comply with the DoE advice given, the Board has suspended all contracts with RoI operators providing Home to School Transport with effect from June 30, 2012.”