Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. A situation whereby a child is left on the side of the road, with the consequent risks to his or her safety, is tantamount to criminality, according to the headmaster of Ramsgrange community school. When does the Minister of State expect the report on this incident to be published? I presume she does not have the details of this particular case but the point of major concern for parents is that a child should be abandoned on a roadside. According to media reports, the driver knew that the child in question had a ticket but had forgotten it that morning.

What assurances can the Minister of State give parents that this will not happen again? The school transport scheme caters for more than 130,000 children but we must focus on those cases in which problems have arisen. When will the report on this incident be available? What assurances can the Minister of State give parents who leave their children to the bus that they will actually get on the bus? Is there any assurance that such an incident will not happen again? Has the Minister of State met Bus Éireann on this case and laid down a marker for the future that no child should be left on the side of the road? Parents have enough concerns about their children going to school without this extra concern. I was contacted by a number of families who were concerned the same would happen to their child.

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