Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a number of questions but I will read out what I have to say initially and perhaps the Minister might pull out some of the points that need to be clarified. First, I thank her for all the help she and her Department have given my constituency, Cork South-West. She has only been in her ministerial position a short time. I assure her that the funding that has been provided because of the urgency of the situation - in many cases due to the Covid crisis - has been most gratefully received in Scoil Mhuire na nGrást, in Belgooly; Bandon Grammar School; Scoil an Chroí Ró Naofa, in Castletownbere; Dreeny national school, in Skibberreen; and Rath national school. These schools and the staff, pupils and parents are very grateful. We do, however, have some more schools that still need help because of Covid-19, and perhaps the Minister might take these on board. We have been in contact with her office. They are Scoil Bhríde, in Ballydehob, and Our Lady of Mercy national school, in Bantry. Both these need an extra teacher each, both have too many students in one classroom and both have empty classrooms where the students could be more socially distanced if they had an extra teacher. In Our Lady of Mercy, in Bantry, one of the students, a little girl, has special needs and cannot go to school because there are too many in the classroom. The Minister might be able to have a look at both these schools. As I said, I have contacted her office and I hope we will have the same success we have had regarding many other issues in recent times.

The issue relating to school buses is a whole other nightmare. The Government's original plan was to run the school bus system the same as in former years, with the addition of masks, visors and hand sanitisers. This was a woefully inadequate response to the virus, many feel, because it was clear from the spring that social distancing would be obligatory on school buses. Now that there must be social distancing on buses in the wake of a recommendation from NPHET, Bus Éireann will have to play a lot of catch-up trying to roll out perhaps 1,200 to up to 1,600 school buses on a phased basis.

There is no guarantee that the required number of buses will be in place any time soon. It may even be after Christmas and more clarity from the Minister is needed in that regard.

On a more local note, I have had parents on the phone day and night. This concessionary ticket is a scandalous nightmare. People from Kinsale, Bandon, Clonakilty, Enniskeane, Coppeen, Bantry Skibbereen, Sheep's Head and throughout west Cork do not have places on buses for their children and have no way of getting their children to school. We need to get school transport up and running so we are not leaving children behind.

The Minister also indicated there was a grant available for those who decide to avail of post-primary transport services. How much will that grant amount to per day? When will it be available and how do parents apply for it? Can parents hire a private taxi to transport their children to school? These are questions that are being asked of us on a regular basis.

To be fair to the Minister it was always going to be difficult to get children back to school and this has been done, but some children are literally being left behind. I would welcome her comments and solutions. This evening, I had parents ringing me to say that a Bus Éireann bus from Bandon to Kinsale was at 100% capacity. It was full when it should have been at 50% capacity. The lack of social distancing on school buses could undo the best efforts of schools to protect their students from Covid-19. Another factor is that in many cases a bus delivers students to more than one post-primary school, thus increasing the potential to spread the virus. The Minister might have a chance to answer some of those questions.