Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A total of 144,000 pupils last year were mainstream and this year the figure is 162,000. That is a significant increase.

A school transport review took place that took quite some time. It was published over a year ago but the Department has not adopted any of the changes recommended. The eligibility criteria for the scheme this year are the same as for last year and previous years. The review recommended that we change some of the eligibility criteria around distance and attending the nearest school. The Department has said that it wants to increase the number of pupils by 100,000 over the next five or six years but there will be no increase this year based on the school review because the Department has not changed any of the criteria.