Priest says bus gate will be a ‘disaster’ for his church as no cars will be able to access it

In a letter to parishioners of St Mary Immaculate Refuge for Sinners, Fr Andrew O’Sullivan warned that the NTA’s proposal for the Rathfarnham to City Centre Core Bus Corridor could have a “dramatic” impact as it would mean no cars could access the Rathmines church.

“Obviously funerals, weddings, baptisms, and all other celebrations would be directly impacted in a negative way. The elderly, invalids, and those with mobility issues, would be impacted negatively too,” he said.

He warned that the proposal as it currently stands “without any exaggeration, could lead to an impoverishment of the services we provide as well as the church becoming redundant over time”.

His concerns are supported by Fine Gael senator Mary Seery Kearney, who said the bus gate “will potentially have a catastrophic impact on the life of the church in Rathmines in terms of access to it and its wider social services”.

The Rathfarnham to City Centre Core Bus Corridor is part of the BusConnects programme which aims to ease congestion in the capital.

Ms Seery Kearney said concerns about the bus corridor are not just confined to Rathmines. “Elderly and people with disabilities are very distressed about the potential impacts across the bus corridors from Templeogue, Kimmage and Greenhills. They fear being isolated and stranded for hours every day.”

A spokesman for the NTA told Independent.ie three rounds of public consultation on the scheme have taken place and reports on those consultations are on the NTA’s website.

“These provide details of how we notified people and what issues were raised with us during the process. Further comments were also received from community forums and residents’ meetings where issues raised were taken into account during the development of the scheme design,” Dermot O’Gara said.

A total of 2,729 submissions were received as part of the first consultation, 66 submissions were received as part of the second consultation and a further 949 submissions were received as part of the third consultation.

“Because the scheme has been formally submitted to An Bord Pleanála for its determination, it would not be appropriate for the NTA to comment on views or opinions expressed by other parties in relation to the proposals,” the NTA said.

Fr O’Sullivan told the Irish Independent that the public consultations, some of which were carried out online during the Covid-19 pandemic, took place before he became parish priest in Rathmines. “Many people seem unaware that any consultation took place,” he said.

Local resident and Labour councillor Mary Freehill said the main objective of the bus gate is “to discourage commuters from driving to work” and that is why she thinks it “is a good idea”. But she said the proposed hours, 6am to 8pm each day, is “excessive”. “I think it’s reasonable to expect to access the church on Saturday and Sundays.”