Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister appeared before the Joint Committee on Disability Matters last night where she spoke about taxi services and said that children with additional special needs and wheelchair users could get minibuses and taxis to meet their needs. How will her Department ensure that these students do not fall between the gaps in the services?

The Minister spoke about rural Ireland and said that she understood the levels of stress especially for transport in rural Ireland. There has been an increase in school demands in Ardara, County Donegal, where I live, obviously as the numbers are growing due to the numbers of Ukrainian refugees in the local communities. The demand is growing in rural Ireland in particular with regard to rooms and buses. What extra services is the Department putting in place for villages such as Ardara and Glenties to make sure that children are able to get on the bus and that the bus facilitates all children, including Ukrainian refugees? Yesterday the Tánaiste said that there needed to be more buses put in place. What is the Department of Education doing to ensure this does not happen again and that this time next year, we will not be in the same situation we are in now with regard to the crisis of children and buses?

This extra €40 million was brought about for the cost of living. Single parents in rural communities and Dublin are impacted more greatly, having two or three children and not having the finance for these children to be on school buses. I understand we are talking about the review. The Minister's Department really needs to reflect what has happened. I support my colleagues who called for an apology. How does this not happen again? We could be back here this time next year talking about the same crisis. Will the Minister ensure this will not happen again?