John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Keeffe for raising this matter today and for his kind opening remarks. Before I address the specific issue, I will provide Members with an outline of the extent of the school transport service. The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources and finance, to support the transport to and from school, particularly in rural areas, of children who reside far from their nearest school.

In the 2018-19 school year, more than 117,000 children were transported to primary and post-primary schools twice a day throughout the country, including almost 14,000 children with special needs, in 5,000 vehicles. A total of 100 million km a year were travelled at a cost of more than €200 million.

Believe it or not, the scheme is regarded as being one of the best in Europe. All eligible children, including children with special needs, for whom the scheme is designated are carried through this school transport system at a very reasonable cost. A primary school child is transported twice per day at an annual cost of €100. A value-for-money review carried out by an independent group stated the cost would be more than €1,200 per year by car.

Children are generally eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school. Children who are eligible for school transport and who 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 but who completed the application process on time are considered for any spare seats that may be on the bus. Where the number of applications for school transport exceeds the number of spare seats available, tickets are allocated using a general selection process.

On an annual basis, Bus Éireann allocates tickets for non-eligible children after all eligible children have been accommodated on school transport services. This exercise normally takes place after the closing date for receipt of payment, with a view to ensuring maximum use of capacity of school bus services. This cut-off point is necessary in order that effective planning of routes and allocation of tickets can take place in a timely manner in advance of the start of the school year.

Bus Éireann has confirmed that a number of children attending the school referred to by the Deputy were not allocated a ticket for the 2019-20 school year due to not having completed the application or payment process within the timeline or who were unsuccessful in the allocation of concessionary transport.

The very good scheme for eligible children and children with special needs was put in place by a Fianna Fáil Government. Rather than leave a few spare seats on a bus go empty, children who were not eligible were allowed travel on it. They received concessionary tickets. At the beginning, there were 300 such tickets and now there are 28,000. The scheme is creaking at the seams. Every year we invest substantial money in the scheme. This year, we were successful in getting an extra €1 million from the Department of Education and Skills and we are looking for more money in the budget. The problem we face is that every year, more eligible children, more children with special needs and more concessionary children come into the scheme. This requires more buses and more money. Children with special needs require carers. Garda clearance is required. Sometimes a child with special needs has two carers. It is a very difficult scheme to manage and run. It is very complicated and over the summer months, it kept staff in my office here until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. as they ensured those who were eligible and children with special needs were accommodated on buses throughout the country.

On the particular issue raised by the Deputy, I am prepared to sit down and speak to him to see exactly how many children are involved and their circumstances. I have no problem doing this. I have met any Deputy or family who has asked to meet me.

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