Mr. Richard Dolan:

Senator Ruane asked a number of questions and other members asked questions too. On the issue of eligibility, the Senator is right that it does not change from year to year. The Department does not reassess eligibility in a given year, and certainly not on the special needs scheme, unless there is some substantive change. The Department would not look at the child's eligibility once he or she has been assessed. For instance, the child can change schools and things like that. Mr. Kent and Ms Flynn can come in on this, but what happens from year to year is that the Department does not reassess eligibility but new children are constantly coming into the scheme. Bus Éireann is tasked with running the most effective network possible. It will see if the new children can be put on current services. If there is an influx of eligible children, services might have to be split and things like that. That is why it changes from year to year.