Mr. Richard Dolan:

I am not sure what the minimum and maximum are, but I can get the Chairman that information. We have a process for allocating transport for children with special needs on a case-by-case basis.

The application will come to us, signed off by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. We will then contact Bus Éireann to see if a route is currently available. There could be a special needs school transport vehicle going by the house, in which case we will just put the child on it, possibly at no additional cost or a small additional cost. If we calculate that the grant would be cheaper than amending a route then we will offer the parents a grant, but often they cannot take it because both are working, so it is not all about economics and it is addressed on each child case by case.