Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

The school transport scheme, operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department, is primarily a rural-based scheme which facilitates the transportation of more than 134,000 children to primary and post-primary schools each day.

The Deputy will be aware that the school transport system is a significant operation involving approximately 42 million journeys of more than 82 million km on 6,000 routes every school year. The 2008 allocation for school transport was €175.2 million and this has been increased by 12% to €196 million in 2009, an indication, given the difficult fiscal conditions, of the Government's commitment to maintaining the scheme. The allocation to school transport services has increased almost threefold since 1997.

Despite the escalating cost of the service, charges for school transport had not been increased from 1998 until the third term in the 2007-08 school year. A further increase was necessary at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year. The budget 2009 increase applies from the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. In the overall context and in order to minimise the overall effects, these increases have been confined to the 55,000 eligible post-primary children availing of concessionary transport. Charges will continue to be waived in respect of post-primary children whose families are in possession of a valid medical card, or to a further 19,000 children. Eligible children attending primary schools and children with special needs, approximately 54,000 children, will continue to travel free of charge. A maximum family rate will also be applied. The total contribution from parents will continue to represent only 7% of the overall allocation for school transport in 2009.

This scheme aims to provide comfortable and safe transport for children travelling to and from school. Measures to ensure the highest standards in this regard include the phasing out of the three for two seating arrangement on primary and post-primary services, providing all children with a seat; the addition of a considerable number of vehicles to address capacity shortfalls arising from the decision to provide each child with an individual seat and the equipping of all school buses in the scheme with seat belts; and inspection by Bus Éireann, using an independent agency, to satisfy itself that all buses entering the school transport scheme are fitted with seat belts which meet the standard agreed with the Department of Transport. In addition, Bus Éireann has put in place a random vehicle inspection process conducted by a leading independent external expert in this field.

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