Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have to get into that space and find smarter ways of doing things. It will be music to the ears of those in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform if we can make savings in that regard and have fewer buses on the roads. That said, we are here as servants of the people and not of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and must ensure that services are there. We are focused on ensuring that young people have access to their schools. I intervened for post-primary schools this summer when we made a policy change if there is a traditional route to the second closest school and put in extra finances for that. The Chairperson also spoke about the 4.8 km policy for post-primary schools. When we are looking at the overall review of transport, we bring everything into the mix because there are areas where acute problems remain.

Safety and safe routes to schools in urban areas were also raised. Safety must be at the heart of this. I acknowledge the officials at county council level who draw down CLÁR funding for safety measures outside schools. We must go further and look at what actually happens when a number of vehicles and young people are in a populated area and traffic is passing by. We have to look at everything, including speed between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. There are things we can do within this review and we can hopefully-----