Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

There will be further discussions between my Department and the Department of Transport in respect of the directive. The position relating to regulations depends on that Department but I am aware of the feeling of the House on the issue, particularly in the aftermath of yesterday's events.

The Deputy pointed out that there were many recommendations in the report published in 1999. One of these dealt with the age of school buses, which we are trying to reduce. I am informed that the average age of buses is 16 years, I reiterate that this remain the lowest since 1990.

A handsome budget of €117 million is provided annually for school transport and 30% of this is specifically aimed at students with special needs. Of the 138,000 school children who use school buses, 8,000, or 6%, have special needs.

The Deputy made the point that in the US, cars come to a halt behind school buses. The whole purpose of implementing the initiative with flashing lights was to remind motorists that they had to take extreme care as children would be alighting from buses. There is a mechanism that we can implement to introduce legislation to ensure that due care is taken by motorists. I will consider the point raised by the Deputy that cars should come to a full halt. As far as I am aware, the requirement to wear seat belts in school buses only applies to three states in the US.

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