Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

Under the terms of my Department's school transport scheme, a pupil with special educational needs is eligible for school transport if he or she is attending the nearest recognised mainstream school, special class, special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced to meet the child's special educational needs under Department of Education and Skills criteria. While school transport applications for children with special educational needs are processed as expeditiously as possible, I understand that in instances where a new service is required, due to procurement procedures, it may take a number of weeks before a service can be established. If the Deputy has a particular case in mind, I will be happy to talk to him about it.

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