John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is aware that the seats for concessionary applicants are allocated after all eligible children have been accommodated on the school transport service. I accept there are some difficulties with respect to routes, the sizes of buses and so on: of that there is no question. I am inundated with requests for school transport from applicants throughout the country. I give the Deputy a guarantee that no student will lose a seat on the school bus during this term. I have called for the Department to have another review of all aspects of the school transport scheme, concessionary places and otherwise. Nobody will be cut off the school transport scheme in this term, once they are eligible for school transport under the concessionary or the eligibility criteria. There are extreme difficulties, of that there is no question. TDs have contacted me. I have met Bus Éireann and any groups that wanted to meet me and I have spoken to parents. I have met TDs from the Deputy's party. I accept there are compassionate grounds in some instances but every parent wants to obtain school transport to bring their child to school. If people want to come to my office to raise individual cases, they can do so. I can assure the Deputy there will no cuts or changes until another review is carried out by my Department.

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