Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies Cregan, O'Sullivan and Neville for their contributions. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter and to outline my position on school transport to the Salesian college in Pallaskenry and Scoil Mhuire in Askeaton, County Limerick.

One of the main objects of the school transport scheme is to provide a basic level of service for children who live long distances from schools and who might otherwise experience difficulty in attending regularly. There are about 138,000 primary and post-primary pupils using the school transport scheme on a regular basis. The allocation for school transport in 2005 is €116.533 million, an increase of 6% on last year's out-turn. Some 30% of the allocation will be expended this year on transport costs and grant aid for children with special needs, who represent about 6% of the overall number of children carried each day.

For the purposes of post-primary education provision, the country is divided into catchment areas, each of which has its own post-primary centre. Under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for school transport if he or she resides 4.8 kilometres or three miles or more, from the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which he or she lives. A post-primary centre is not necessarily a school building. It is usually a central point in the catchment area to which the distance from home is measured.

Eligible pupils who wish to attend post-primary schools in another catchment area may be allowed transport on school services from within the catchment boundary of the school being attended, subject to there being room available on the school transport service and to there being no additional cost to the State. Pupils are responsible for getting to the nearest school bus service within that catchment area. An eligible pupil who is approved for catchment boundary transport is not guaranteed school transport for the duration of his or her education at that centre. As a concessionary measure, continued transport will depend on the availability of space on the school service to that centre each school term.

A large number of pupils who reside in the Limerick city catchment area have been provided with full transport facilities to the Salesian college in Pallaskenry because of difficulties encountered in previous years in securing placements in certain schools in Limerick city. A lesser number of such pupils were provided with full transport to Scoil Mhuire, Askeaton, for the same reason. However, as a result of the introduction of the central applications facility for the allocation of places in Limerick city post-primary schools for the current school year, it became apparent that there were enough places in the city for all applicants from the catchment. Every child who applied for a place got one and 95% received offers within their first three preferences.

In the circumstances, it was decided to discontinue the practice of offering a special service to new catchment boundary pupils travelling to Pallaskenry and Askeaton. Existing passengers were reassured that they would have a place for the rest of their schooling but new applicants were told they would have to be treated in the same way as catchment boundary applicants in other parts of the country. Catchment boundary transport will continue to be available to pupils enrolling in the Salesian college in Pallaskenry and in Scoil Mhuire, Askeaton, subject to the terms of the scheme. I do not propose to reverse my decision which was made following a full assessment of all relevant factors.

On the issue of catchment boundaries, there have been calls for local and general reviews of these boundaries to enable pupils to be accommodated with school transport to attend a school of their choice. The catchment boundaries have their origins in the establishment of free post-primary education in the late 1960s. For planning purposes, the country was divided into geographic districts, each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary centre with one or more post-primary schools. The intention was that these defined districts would facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. They also facilitated the provision of a national school transport service, enabling children from remote areas to get to their nearest school.

While the service has been developed over the years to take account of linguistic and denominational considerations in the matter of school choice, it was never the intention that such choice would be unlimited. Clearly, the cost of operating such a scheme would be unsustainable, especially in the context of competing demands, including the major safety programme we are implementing at present.

It is reasonable for parents to exercise educational choice. However, expectation as to the extent to which choice can be facilitated must be tempered with realism. A review of catchment boundaries may be appropriate where, for example, a new post-primary school is established in an area where previously there was none or, conversely, where a "sole provider" school closes due to declining enrolment. However, to revise boundaries to provide school transport for pupils to their school of choice would not be appropriate and it is not my intention to undertake such reviews. Any other approach would make it impossible to operate the school transport service on a cost effective basis and could well give rise to additional costs related to additional teacher posts and accommodation.

I thank the Deputies for referring to the work being done on the safety programme. It has been an expensive programme and I thank them for their acknowledgement of that. However, with regard to the issue of Askeaton and Pallaskenry which is under discussion this evening, it saddens me to hear from Deputy Neville that people are confused about the situation. I have never attempted to play politics with this issue. I have always been up front about my decision. I accept that the Deputy is not accusing me of being duplicitous but I am saddened that some who are not present might be using this situation as a political manoeuvre. If that is so, it is sad.

I have not added to the confusion. I have stated where I stand to the parents when I met them, on more than one occasion. The confusion does not emanate from me and I believe the Deputy appreciates that.

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