Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Murphy touched on transport as being a big factor for the students she works with. The need for access to public transport is across the board when it comes to all education, even tertiary education. While we have the likes of green flags and bike to school week, how do we further develop these initiatives and embed them in school communities? Why are we telling young people to cycle to school for a week and that is it? What is wrong with the rest of the weeks in the school year? What it says to me is that parents and school communities are not confident in the safety aspect of asking their students to do that. I have been asked to participate in escorting children to school on bikes because of the concerns that are there. That is replicated throughout the country. From what our witnesses are hearing from the students they represent, how confident are student communities in walking to school if they are within a reasonable distance or using a bike or other form of active travel to get to school?