Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Rural transport. I stated that when the number of passengers drops below ten and suddenly becomes nine, the bus is taken off the road. Why can we not reduce the bus size to a minibus to provide for nine or six? Even if it decreased to two, we could use a taxi. Fare-paying parents would still make a contribution. If one has free school transport and suddenly the bus is taken off the road, one receives a remote transport grant, which does not cover the cost of alternative transport. I do not know where exactly the Minister comes from, but it is very awkward for people who live five, six, seven or ten miles from the nearest school and go in a different direction to work. Nine is quite a big number of children to leave on the side of the road and not put on a bus for them.