Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a few quick questions as well.

I want to bring up school buses. Officially, it is under the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, but we have had a few discussions about this here because the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is keen on all things related to public transport. In fact, it probably should be under the Department of Transport. It would be more linear to have school buses and buses in all forms under one Department rather than spread across two.

I happen to think that the free school bus scheme is fantastic. There was a significant number of teething problems, which were well covered but the core concept of having free buses moving throughout the country morning and afternoon taking children from school is fantastic. It needs refining; not abandonment.

I used teach in a school that had 347 children. It was on a tertiary road where every ten minutes, one might encounter a car. However, at 9 a.m. and at 2.40 p.m., there were approximately 300 drop-offs done. It was bedlam. People invariably slowed down and pulled up for the five- or six-minute hug and "Goodbye". We used send emails out asking would they ever make the hug quicker and move on. There was all of the congestion that happens outside every school gate every morning.

I am cognisant it comes under the remit of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, but would the Minister comment on that? By the way, that was Parteen village I referred to. It will take decades to build metro north and all of these fabulous capital infrastructure schemes but to have a bus going up a rural road taking 50 cars off it morning and evening is transformative. Unlike the bus lanes in Dublin, it does not take ten years to build. It takes a political decision, funding and the recruitment of a driver. Could the Minister entertain us a little with his thoughts on that?