Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic.

There is much talk about the development of new schools because of demographic pressures. Areas, such as Kildare, where there is continued and sustained growth will be in the forefront, as will places such as Meath and Wicklow, Fingal, places around the suburbs of Cork etc. The intention is to identify those pressures and to provide sites, and ultimately schools, in advance of the need. Obviously, that requires the recruitment of staff and all that goes with a school. While it is not possible to have a secondary school located in every town or village, it will, therefore, be necessary for students to travel.

We have a school transport system and while each child in theory is entitled to a school place on a school bus if the family has a medical card, those who do not have such a card are described as concessionary passengers - the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, will know that more than any of us - which means they must pay on the bus. The problem is not with the payment; it is with the availability of places.

When places are insufficient, what occurs is Bus Éireann randomly selects who gets a place and who does not. It is a lottery and often people hear the position at a very late stage. I talked to the Minister of State over the summer about this and there has been some progress. I have talked to several families who had their school transport on a concessionary basis for several years, find themselves now to have that withdrawn for all of their children, paid their fee in April or May, and then get the money returned in late August only days before they have to make arrangements and juggle work etc. New pupils, for example, who are also on it on a concessionary basis, also need school transport places. One can see the kind of resentment in communities that is created. I am sure the Minister of State knows it well. If there is no new funding, for example, then growing areas will always be the ones that are under most pressure. If there is a new school development and there are new teachers, it is self-evident that there needs to be additional funding factored in to account for this.

It is not always true that someone in a family with a medical card is automatically entitled to a place. In my area, it is not unusual to be fighting for school places. Section 29 appeals are par for the course. It is pressure all the way in relation to school places. Essentially, we had 19 youngsters for whom there was no accommodation in one particular area. For example, one family applied for the secondary school in Clane. The school was oversubscribed and there were 20 on the waiting list. Then they applied to Leixlip, Maynooth and Celbridge. When they got a school place in Maynooth, they withdrew the section 29 appeal but, because the child is not going to the school closest to the family, the child is considered a concessionary place on the school bus despite the fact that this family has a medical card. The child would not have got into that school because there were no places available. That seems extremely unfair because they have no choice in the matter.

Children are eligible for transport if they reside not less than 4.8 km from the school they are attending, so long as it is the nearest education centre as determined by the Department of Education and Skills. That rule in its own right needs to be dealt with. Of the 19 pupils, ten still do not have school places. It is impossible for parents to juggle if they are trying to work as well. This issue has to be resolved.

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