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Dundalk Leader 5th August 2026
Dundalk Leader Local Democracy Reports By LAUREN ROSS l lauren@dundalkleader.com
New review offers hope for Kilcurry families face anxious more parking at Clarke Station wait for school bus places
Clarke Station’s parking needs are being reassesed as part of a national review. CLARKE Station’s parking needs are being reassessed as part of a national review, raising the prospect of additional spaces at the busy Dundalk station following repeated concerns about parking shortages. Independent Cllr Maeve Yore once again raised the issue at the July meeting of Louth County Council, where she asked for an update on plans for the station. Director of Services Thomas McEvoy told the meeting that Irish Rail was finalising a draft national car park strategy, which he said had been submitted to the National Transport Authority several weeks earlier. He said the council was also waiting to hear back from CIÉ Group Property after putting forward a number of possible options for the station.
Irish Rail completed its previous National Car Park Strategy in 2020 to identify where additional parking was needed at train stations across the network. The strategy forms the basis of the current National Car Park Programme, which is funded by the NTA and delivered by Irish Rail. Clarke Station was not identified as a priority for additional parking at that time. However, the NTA has confirmed to the Dundalk Leader that the station is now being looked at again because travel and commuting patterns have changed significantly in recent years. “As part of this review, the needs of stations across the network, including Dundalk (Clarke), are being reassessed,” the authority said. The NTA also said it understood
Irish Rail was close to completing the review and expected to receive the updated strategy shortly. Once received, the recommendations will be considered alongside other public transport investment priorities. This will help determine future funding for station access and parking improvements, including any potential project at Clarke Station. The review is also looking at how passengers get to stations by bus, on foot and by bicycle. The NTA said improving these more sustainable options was a key focus, although more car parking could still be considered where there was a clear need and suitable land was available. Irish Rail has been contacted for comment.
FAMILIES in the Kilcurry area are facing an anxious wait to find out whether their children will have a place on a school bus to Bush Post Primary School when the new term begins. That is according to Fine Gael councillor John Reilly who has expressed “serious concern” over the ongoing difficulties he says many families are facing in securing school transport for students attending Bush Post Primary School this September. He said he had been “inundated with calls and messages from anxious parents who are still trying to source bus tickets for their children” in recent days. According to Cllr Reilly, most of the representations he has received are from the Kilcurry area where around 35 students are due to attend Bush Post Primary School during the coming academic year, but a number of families have yet to learn whether their children will be allocated seats on school transport. “School bus tickets seem to be like a lottery,” Cllr Reilly said. “Parents have complied with the application process, yet many still do not know if their children will have access to a school bus. “This uncertainty is causing unnecessary stress and anxiety for families at what should be an exciting time as children prepare for the new school year.” Cllr Reilly said he had written to Bus Éireann seeking urgent clarification and asking that every
Cllr. Reilly has expressed serious concerns over school transport.
effort be made to accommodate students who require transport. He has also asked Louth TD Paula Butterly (FG) to raise the matter with Bus Éireann and the Department of Education. “It is unacceptable that families are left unsure how their children will get to school just weeks before the start of term,” Cllr Reilly said. “The demand for places is clearly there, particularly in the Kilcurry area, and I am calling on the relevant authorities to provide additional capacity where neces-
sary.” Under the School Transport Scheme, applying and paying for transport does not in itself guarantee that a pupil will receive a seat. Cllr Reilly said he would continue engaging with Bus Éireann, the Department of Education and other local representatives in an effort to secure a solution for the families affected. The Dundalk Leader has contacted Bus Eireann and the Department of Education and Youth for comment.
Dundalk athletics track enters final lap as major upgrade nears completion DUNDALK is a step closer to gaining access to a major new sporting facility, with work at Dundalk Athletics Track site nearing completion. According to Independent councillor Maeve Yore, the facility includes a new eight-lane, 400-metre synthetic running track, a central field space and dedicated facilities for the long jump, triple jump, shot put, high jump, pole vault and javelin, along with equipment storage areas. Cllr Yore, who said she has repeatedly raised the need to develop the track over the past seven years at every opportunity, welcomed the latest progress on the project, saying she is “delighted that the works are progressing and close to completion.” She said work had begun on an attenuation tank for stormwater drainage, while the foundations and base
for new floodlights were poured this week. The floodlights have been ordered and it is hoped they will be installed and operational during the final quarter of 2026, according to Cllr Yore. “I go up to the Track bi-weekly to check progress and am on first-name terms with the contractors at this stage who keep me updated on developments”, she said. Cllr Yore added she visited the site this week while Matthew Cohen Trackmaster International carried out works. “Matthew’s company is doing the line marking and Track certification and Trackmaster International is accredited by World Athletics for onsite and laboratory testing as well as services for precision survey checking
and track line marking globally,” she explained. “I am absolutely ecstatic that Dundalk Athletics Track is on ‘the final lap’ of works and hopes the opening will be before the end of Summer 2026. “It will be a phenomenal and transformative asset for schools, clubs and athletes across our town and county,” she added. Cllr Yore also acknowledged the “phenomenal” work of Louth County Council’s Project Lead and Senior Engineer, Chief Executive David Conway and his management team while also recognising the “knowledgeable input from local athletics club representatives to get this transformative project up and operational for present and future generations of Work at Dundalk Athletics Track is nearing completion. athletes.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme