Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the committee today. I thank the Minister for her kind words for the families in Donegal at the start of her opening statement. They are very much appreciated.

The Minister will be aware that school transport has been a major issue for me, particularly in the east Galway area. I suppose my question, if the Minister does not mind, and apologies if she has answered it already, is, what is the number of tickets that have been issued to date? Do we have a total number for that?

I have been dealing with the Galway regional manager and there are significant challenges with capacity. It is going out to an internal panel. How will we make it more attractive for those contractors to provide those services? There is €10 million extra in the fuel allowance. Is there anything else around that? Has the Minister any other comments around this?

The Minister has been doing a lot of work. A budget has been allocated, which is appreciated, but even today I am dealing with mothers under immense stress who still have no acknowledgement or communication about the potential timeline for when they may see a ticket under the concessionary side of it.