Pat the Cope Gallagher officiates at Letterkenny Bus Station upgrade

Date: 03 April 2006

Pat the Cope Gallagher officiates at Letterkenny Bus Station upgrade

Donegal Minister, Pat the Cope Gallagher, TD, today officially opened the refurbished Bus Éireann station in Letterkenny. The station is redesigned to full safety and accessible standards.

Speaking in Letterkenny, Minister Gallagher said the upgrade will offer real benefits for bus passengers, in particular those with disabilities.

The station has been entirely redesigned to enhance accessibility for all, including those with mobility and sensory impairments. The main elements of the Letterkenny Accessibility project are the provision of:

automatic doors
ramped footpaths
signage displays
additional lighting
wheelchair accessible toilets
installation of counter loop systems to improve communications between public office staff and customers with a hearing disability

The project received funding of €562,000 from the Exchequer under the National Development Plan (NDP). Bus Éireann, with financial support from the Exchequer under the NDP, has been engaged over several years in upgrading bus stations, in particular with a view to making them fully accessible to all and safer for both customers and staff.

In conjunction with provision of more accessible infrastructure, Bus Éireann has also provided disability awareness training to both its own staff and contractor staff. Since 2001, approximately 4,500 people have received such training.

The refurbished Letterkenny station complements recent improvements in Bus Éireann services in Co. Donegal, including restructuring of some services to operate via the M1 and serve Dublin Airport, and the implementation by Bus Éireann in conjunction with McGeehan Coaches of an integrated timetable on the Donegal/Dublin route. Connections are available from Co. Donegal to other locations all round the country served by Bus Éireann's integrated nationwide network of services.

Minister Gallagher said in Letterkenny today: "This Government is committed to promoting a maximum of social inclusion, and creating a society in which all our citizens can participate fully in economic and social life. Accessible transport is a vital component in achieving this. One of our priorities in Government is the development of top class public transport, to encourage people use public transport as an alternative to the car."

It is now a requirement that all new public transport projects must have accessibility for all built in from the design stage. This commitment is also contained the ten-year investment strategy, Transport 21, which was launched last year. Transport 21 also includes provision for the retrofitting and adaptation of existing infrastructure to take account of accessibility