Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Bus Éireann has tried as best it can this year to accommodate children on concessionary seats on buses that serve children who are eligible for Heywood College and a number of other schools across the country. Parents should be aware that these seats are made available on a concessionary basis. If they choose to use them, there is no guarantee that the concessionary option will remain open to them in the future. Parents will continue to have the option of accessing school transport to their nearest school, if they choose to do so. The Deputy also asked whether mistakes have been made. My understanding is that when the distance between a child's home and his or her school is disputed, Bus Éireann uses a specially equipped vehicle that can accurately measure - to within a metre - the exact distance between the child's home and the school. Deputy Flanagan contends that Bus Éireann used the wrong location within Portlaoise when making the measurement in this instance. I will undertake to interact with Bus Éireann at the earliest possible time tomorrow morning to ensure such a mistake has not been made. If it has been made, it will be rectified immediately.

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