Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I am not a member of this committee and I acknowledge and appreciate that the Chairman has allowed me to speak this afternoon. I will certainly not delay proceedings. When one is last to speak at a committee, the one advantage is that most speakers have said everything else. I concur with Deputy Scanlon. Before we get into changing policies, negatives and problems, it is always good to acknowledge the positives. I definitely want to acknowledge the success of the school transport scheme where it is working. It is frustrating for the public, representatives and everyone in that we can see where it works exceptionally well in most areas. We want to acknowledge that and the benefits brought for so many students and families in so many locations. When it works and runs smoothly, it is seamless. It is important to acknowledge that. The service provider - Bus Éireann is represented here today - does a very positive job. I get feedback from constituents describing the good work being done and how co-operative it is in assisting people while working within very tight guidelines and the restrictive policy that exists. The provider does its best and gives a good service, and it is important we acknowledge that before we start.

I will focus on the policy area as it pertains to three topics. Colleagues have spoken about bus tickets and some tickets are automatically awarded to students based on particular conditions and eligibility for medical cards. That is fine. My information is that people applying for discretionary bus tickets or some people who pay for a ticket are not being awarded a ticket because the bus is operating at full capacity. In a number of audits done by me and constituents, it seems some people awarded a free ticket are not using the seat and it is not being taken up. I can notify the witnesses of the exact circumstances outside the committee. There are bus routes where seats are vacant. On that basis, is it possible that a review could be carried out to ensure the people who are automatically getting tickets are using them? If they are not, could the seat revert to somebody who badly needs it and who has endured much difficulty because of not being able to access it in order to get to school? In some cases that I can speak about later, students have had to change school and it may have been very difficult for parents to leave children to school. A seat on a bus would make a massive difference in such cases. It is a problem.

There is also a problem where students got transport to school last year but they will not get it this year, as colleagues have mentioned. It can be very disruptive. Brothers or sisters may be on the bus but these students cannot travel on them. The logistics are a massive problem for families. If 80 students need a bus to get to school, can the capacity not be organised to meet demand? Why is there a lottery, with parents or children fighting for places on buses when we know the numbers who need transport? Why is transport not being provided in an adequate way? It amazes me because we always seem to put the service in place or put it to tender on the basis that the demand is not met and capacity is less than the demand. It is a problem.

There is also the question of choosing a school closest to the home. That does not always work. The Johnstownbridge and Broadford areas of Kildare spoken about are on the border with Meath.

My colleague has spoken about that general area. It is bordering Meath. When students complete primary school and want to go on to post-primary education, first and foremost, they like to follow their peers and stay with their friends. Most importantly of all, they want to stay within their county so they can play sports and represent their county. That might not mean a lot to all students but it means a lot to most students. In the case of Johnstownbridge, which has been alluded to by my colleague, approximately 40 students are being driven by car from Johnstownbridge to Enfield to get the bus to Kilcock. That distance is 3 km. I have met with the Department and we have had meetings on the ground. We have highlighted the issues surrounding where the students are picked up and dropped off and the Department is saying they are outside the line and that it cannot do it. The irony is that if those 40 children came from the post-primary school in Kilcock and went to the one in their catchment area, as identified by the Department, there is no capacity for those 40 students in that school and a bus would be needed to bring those students to that school anyhow because the current bus would not have the capacity to do so. We need a bit of lateral thinking to accommodate people because if those students move to the school identified by the Department, a bus will need to be provided for the students. Why is flexibility not built in to bring them the 3 km to where they get the bus to go to their school of choice given all the reasons we have outlined?

If the Department is drawing up boundaries and trying to bring it into a system, I can see how these problems can occur but surely when these problems are brought to the Department's attention and discussed on the ground for the reasons my colleagues and I, and many more people, have raised with the Department, some flexibility should be built into the policy and guidelines to deal with those situations so they do not exist because, believe it or not, they cause a lot of hardship, pain, hassle, unnecessary worry and stress for families and students. I know of one family where a student is entering the leaving certificate year and who might not be able to get a bus to go to the school they have attended for the past six years, which is a real worry for the family. That is a problem. As I said at the outset, the school transport scheme works well when it works. It is well organised in areas and Bus Éireann and other bus providers provide an excellent service. However, we are talking about a percentage. It is not carte blanche. Flexibility needs to be applied in these areas so that we can have a positive outcome for all concerned. This is what needs to happen and I ask the Department to consider it in the area of policy because it matters.