Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy and I look forward to working with her. I will reiterate what I said at the committee this morning. I see the committee providing a key role in my roadmapping and in how I perform my duties as Minister. I am certain about the knowledge the committee has built up during the past two and a half years. I want to continue with the conversation and bring it in to the construct that we are trying to put together for 2019. We want to work on a plan for 2019 but I want to have a more defined three-year action plan as well. I look forward to working with Deputy Funchion in that regard.

School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. Bus Éireann is required to apply the rules of the scheme equitably in the interests of all those using the service and in delivering value for money.

The purpose of the school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside in remote areas from their nearest school. In the 2017-18 school year in excess of 117,000 children, including more than 12,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in more than 4,500 vehicles every day to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering in excess of 100 million km annually at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017. The scheme is under significant financial pressure arising from growing demographics and the increasing numbers of children with special educational needs seeking transport.

Children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria, if they are attending their nearest school and if it is economically feasible to provide a service. In the latter case, children are eligible for a remote area grant to assist with transport. Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the current school year where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport can be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats on the basis of an agreed selection process.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The terms of the scheme, which are regularly communicated, make it clear that concessionary places are not guaranteed and are allocated year to year. It is understood that the cases referred to by the Deputy relate to children who are not eligible under the rules of the scheme or who failed to complete the application process on time.

Under the terms of the scheme, routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, and larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles will not be provided to cater for ineligible children. Making exceptions to this would effectively create an open-ended scheme with unquantified exposure to the Exchequer and the taxpayer for the resulting cost. Such an approach would not be in the public interest.

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