Ms Áine Lynch:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend. Much of what I am going to say has been said before, but I will go through it.

The current school transport scheme works extremely well for a large number of children and families. However, there are some issues that parents have raised with us over the years. Some are more general and some are specifically in the area of special educational needs. I will start with more general issues.

The issues with catchment areas mainly apply to four areas, which include a lack of clarity about appropriate routes and a lack of flexibility in administering the system. Those two issues, when parents ring us, generally apply to local knowledge about routes. For example, people say that one would never go that way because the traffic is bad. That is the kind of discussion that we have. There is also a lack of awareness regarding the appeals procedure. Many parents are not aware that there is an ability to appeal against decisions made.

The other main general area is health and safety. There are concerns among parents about the health and safety of children availing of the school transport system. These include the lack of adult supervision on school buses. Currently, the only adult on a school bus is the driver, who is clearly not in a position to supervise the children travelling on the bus.

It is important for the physical safety of the children that there is an adult supervisor on all school buses carrying primary school aged children to ensure they are seated and wearing their seat belts at all times. It is also important for other safety reasons regarding behaviours such as bullying that there is adult supervision on school buses. The journey for a child who is being bullied on school transport can be very difficult and parents have reported difficulty in their child's school attendance solely due to the journey to and from school.

Concerns regarding road safety have also been brought to our attention. School gates are often a very busy area at primary school arrival and dismissal times. It is vital that proper protective factors are put in place as part of the school transport system that ensures children are kept safe on the roads in the area of the school. These could include warning systems on school buses that alert people when children are leaving or getting on the bus, regulations that prevent the overtaking of parked school buses and speed restrictions around schools at appropriate times of the day.

There is also an availability issue. Children in junior and senior infants generally finish one hour earlier than the other classes in the school. In many instances, transport is not available for these children until the other classes have finished. In regard to children with special educational needs, there is an issue aroundeligibility criteria with regard to the nearest suitable school. The main issue parents have highlighted to NPC regarding these eligibility criteria relates to the "nearest recognised school" element. The nearest recognised school that can be resourced may not be the most suitable school from the parents' point of view. We have spoken to parents who have identified a school which they believe fits their child's needs most closely but it is not the nearest school and, therefore, the child will not be eligible for transport. While NPC understands that the scheme cannot be completely open ended to accommodate all parents' wishes, more flexibility in eligibility criteria would assist better decisions being made in the interests of children.

On the length of time spent travelling to school, in some cases more than one child is availing of the transport to a particular school. This can result in very long journeys to school for children who are coming from different areas. Parents have reported daily round trips of up to three hours for what would otherwise be a 20 minute drive.On transport escorts, many children need escorts when travelling to school. Parents report that at times schools have difficulty in recruiting appropriate escorts. In addition to the recruitment difficulties parents are concerned that it is not mandatory that transport escorts receive training with regard to the particular needs of the child they are escorting. On time and availability of service, there are two issues regarding time and availability that parents report to NPC as causing difficulties for them. First, children who are eligible for July provision and attend their own school for this provision will not be able to avail of transport and, second, children in junior and senior infants whose day finishes one hour earlier than the rest of the school may not be able to avail of transport at the appropriate time.

In addition to the areas highlighted above regarding the current provision of school transport, NPC believes that a review should be undertaken of school transport. This should include a feasibility report on the delivery of a comprehensive school transport system that is available to all children who need to travel to and from school. Parents consistently inform NPC that a half empty bus travels past their home going to their child’s school that they would be happy to pay for; a bus is at risk of being cancelled due to lack of eligible children in an area; a good bus system in the city areas would reduce traffic congestion and parents would be happy to pay. A full review of school transport should examine these and other issues fully and develop a transport plan that is fit for school children into the future. The school transport system is vital to many children and families in their ability to access primary education. NPC welcomes this review of the school transport system and hopes that it further enhances what is a fundamental service.