Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am afraid I do not have the answer today but there is often crossover between Departments in a number of ways. It is about making sure that what is intended is delivered. For hot school meals, the focus is on making sure every child gets a hot meal. I am pleased to say that is the case for the vast majority of children now. It was decided at the time that this would be done, for the reasons the Cathaoirleach outlined, through the Department of Social Protection. Any change to that would have to be agreed beyond my Department and that of the Minister, Deputy Calleary.

In terms of school transport, when a structure is in place to deliver transport more broadly, it is important to work with that expertise, structure and knowledge. That is why Bus Éireann delivers the school transport scheme. A working group has been established to look at the provision of school transport overall. It is being chaired by the Department of Transport but my Department is key to it. We are looking at every element of school transport, how it is delivered and how it can be more efficient. Some of the pilots rolled out this year placed children on buses that were already in transit between towns and cities. On the Cathaoirleach's point, it is important we do not have empty buses driving around and buses are used whenever they can be. Where there can be a crossover with older schoolchildren, that is something we could explore further. The working group, which is looking at a number of ways we can be more efficient with our school transport, can certainly look at that. The knowledge, structure, expertise and capacity in Bus Éireann to deliver it is the reason for that crossover.