Mr. Tomás Ó Ruairc:

That is a fair point. What we would say is that we need everybody who has a desire and interest in availing of such a service to apply and pay on time. That is the data we have to work off of. It still might not mean we are able to accommodate or provide a service for the other reasons I outlined a few moments ago, but people must apply and pay on time. We can then ask Bus Éireann to look at that and process that data. That is the crucial piece. It is a familiar enough scenario, I have to say, where there would be seven or eight children. Others, if they had applied and paid on time, might have tipped that number over in terms of looking at various possibilities in that context.

With regard to west Wicklow, I know exactly what the parents are saying in terms of the same sector but different patrons. Essentially, if I understand it correctly, that issue of ethos does not apply at post-primary in terms of the application of criteria, whereas it does apply-----