Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

There is no ideological hang up as to how this scheme is applied. The practice whereby school transport is limited to children living beyond a certain distance from a school is the international norm. It is practised in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and in most countries in Europe. At a time of very scarce resources, it is important to focus the school transport regime on those that are most in need of it, namely, those who live furthest away from the school. Having said that, Deputy Flanagan seems to be referring to a particular case which I am having difficulty understanding. If he relays the details of the case to me I will undertake to examine it closely and see can we arrive at a solution.

See this speech in context