02/09/2026
While dropping school kids off this morning to our Local ETB secondary school , 9km from our base, we see a Kilkenny based operator JJ Kavanagh parked waiting to Load a Transition year group to take them on a trip.
Here is the problem,
🔸Nov 2025 - Just 2 years into a 4year contract, LOETB make contact with the 19 operators on the panel to say the budget is gone, they need to re tender for new panels.
🔸We should have received an automatic message from eTenders when the tender was posted, (we didn’t ) why was this not activated ?
🔸Out of the 19 local operators on the panel, only 6 operators got onto this new panel.
🔸 This is 6 operators to cover every school and centre in Laois and Offaly.
🔸JJ Kavanagh from Kilkenny is on the top of the panel which means the school has no choice other than contact them first, regardless of price or logistics.
Does this sound like it’s going to solve an overspending problem ?
Does this look like good value for Public money !
LOETB are committed to sustainability and reducing their Carbon Footprint ???
❗️Where did this bus travel from ( Dublin, Urlingford or maybe Nenagh) and at what financial & environmental cost ?
🔸 This is incredibly detrimental to local Laois & Offaly providers & employers.
🔸 Schools not under the patronage of the ETB use the common sense approach of ringing around local companies and going with the best Quote ! When will the LOETB admit that their Transport panel approach is just not providing best value for money !
🔸A school that despite its size has delivered exceptional Leaving cert awards & National achievements over the last few years!
A school I attended myself and hope to send my children to.
Under the patronage of the LOETB, I’m not so sure.
This is a major blow to a small family company like ourselves and to all other local operators.
We did try to solve this locally, we did contact numerous councillors & TDs, we got nowhere.
🔶Decisions like this jeopardise our Future.
