Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

The safety of children travelling on the school transport service is of paramount importance to my Department and to Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme. To this end, Bus Éireann has a wide range of checking procedures in place, in addition to statutory vehicle examinations, to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that a safe and reliable service is delivered. These procedures are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained and improved upon, where possible. In recent years, a range of measures to enhance safety and to improve the quality of the school transport service has been put in place, both in the vicinity of and on board school buses. These measures include the phasing out of the three-for-two seating arrangement on primary and post-primary services and providing all children with an individual seat equipped with a seat belt.

The planning of school bus routes, which includes designating pick-up and set-down points, is an operational matter for Bus Éireann. However, my Department and Bus Éireann are conscious of the fact that, in spite of the highest safety standards being applied, children are more at risk of being injured in the vicinity of a bus than travelling on the bus itself. A warning flashing light pilot scheme on school buses was launched in Ennis, County Clare in 2005 and a further phase of the pilot scheme will commence in the coming weeks in a number of other designated areas.

All vehicles operating under the school transport scheme are required to meet the statutory regulations as laid down by the Department of Transport. Vehicles with more than eight adult seats and which are more than one year old, are required to pass the Department of Transport's annual roadworthiness test. Private operators employed by Bus Éireann under the school transport scheme are contractually obliged to keep their nominated vehicles in a safe and roadworthy condition at all times. These contractors are required to meet an extensive range of regulations and standards as set out by the Department of Transport for use of buses in a public place.

Bus Éireann conducts on-the-road service checks using 40 mobile school bus inspectors, who board the buses in the course of their checks to ensure the vehicle and driver are as nominated, and to check that other safety requirements are being observed. Follow-up action is taken by the local Bus Éireann office, which can include termination of contract if deficiencies are detected. A leading international independent agency has been engaged by Bus Éireann to carry out mechanically-based checks on a random basis on both Bus Éireann and privately-owned contractors' vehicles operating under the scheme throughout the country. In conjunction with this exercise, the same agency is carrying out audits of maintenance procedures in use by school bus contractors to make sure they meet best industry standards.

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