John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will go through a few points and then make a recommendation to the Deputy. Sometimes we are asked why we do not use the bus routes to determine eligibility rather than the shortest traversable route. The bus route is designed based on the home address of the children who are eligible for school transport. Given that new children apply for transport each school year, it follows that the bus route may change to reflect the location of the homes of eligible children. People might ask why mountain passes, which may be impassable during winter months, must be measured when determining eligibility. Distance is measured using the shortest traversable route.

This means that mountain passes, pedestrian bridges, one-way streets and so forth are factors when measuring the shortest traversable routes. A variety of methods may be used to calculate this measurement, including the Geographic Information System, GIS. This allows for the equitable measuring of distances.

There are other passes in the country about which there is also an issue but this particular case is very difficult. I have read the information on it very carefully and a number of other Deputies have also raised it with me. I invite Deputy McConalogue to meet me and an official from the Department next week so that we can go through this again. I can see that some of the points the Deputy is making are relevant. I am being honest and upfront with the Deputy when I say that these are the rules and regulations with which I must deal, as they are laid out. The Deputy spoke about common sense, in which I am a great believer. I ask the Deputy to sit down next week with me and a departmental official to talk about the issue. Another Deputy from Sinn Féin representing Deputy McConalogue's constituency also has a problem with regard to the pass. Perhaps both Deputies could come in to the Department next week to discuss it.

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