Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, there are many special needs students who need to go to special schools. I totally appreciate that, but there are a lot of students passing their local primary or secondary school to go to another school. What I am asking for today, and no doubt it will be incorporated into the review, is to ensure that the building unit has a very proactive role in that review, because I believe that figure of €150 million on special needs is going to increase. The way around that would be to be more focused on using money to build extra additional ASD classes in local schools, where young people could go to school with their brothers and sisters on the same bus. There is a lot of empty space and empty capacity on many of these buses. The sad thing for a lot of people today, for the 6,000 figure mentioned and the ten students in my own county of Donegal I mentioned as well, is that they were entitled to tickets in the past, but they are not being afforded that opportunity. Additional buses will be needed. I wish the Minister well with the negotiation with the Minister, Deputy McGrath. I had a history of very tense communication between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform when it came to bus transportation. They talk about long-term sustainability, but at the end of the day, if we are going to get more cars off the road and be more green-focused in relation to buses and electric buses and so on, bus transportation is going to be part of that sustainable future. I wish the Minister well and would ask her to look closely at that very important issue in my own county, County Donegal.