Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise directly with the Minister the serious problems that have emerged with school transport in Donegal but also across the rest of the State. The Minister, in conjunction with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, overlooked the school transport challenge under the umbrella of the back-to-school plan in a very clear way. Every year at this time, families are always left behind under the eligible and concessionary tickets system. It is a major problem in rural areas, including rural Donegal, because parents may have to travel 20 miles, or maybe more, in one direction to get to work although the school is in the opposite direction. It is not practical for parents to get to work on time, put a roof over their family's head and get their children to school. Post-primary school is the concern in the case in question.

Every year, there are families left behind. We work through it with Bus Éireann and the Department of Education and Skills and find a solution. This year, however, what has been said to Bus Éireann is that any families who did not avail of the ticket before 4 August will have to wait until 50% capacity is reached. In the likes of Donegal, the private transport operators joined other operators across the State to appeal for financial supports beyond the pandemic unemployment payment. Their industry is in genuine crisis and they really were not financially supported by the Government. They were left blowing in the wind. Those very people are now being asked to bail out our school transport system in order for it to reach 50% capacity. This would of course be desirable in the current climate but surely to God the first thing that should be done is look after the families who have missed out.

When the Department of Education and Skills instructed that the portal application system be opened, we all believed the directive had changed. I learned very quickly it had not and that the instruction to the bus operators who work under Bus Éireann was that they are not to allow a child on a bus unless he or she has a physical ticket from before 4 August.

Lots of families have been left behind and this is a huge crisis for them. In summarising later, will the Minister address what he, working with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, will do to resolve this issue?

I will tell him what the solution is and it is very simple. First, Bus Éireann, working with the Department of Education and Skills, must ensure there is capacity for every single child or student who needs it, be it on an eligible or concessionary basis. As the Minister will be aware, concessionary means the parents pay for the service. Parents are, or course, willing and happy to do that but we cannot leave them behind before we look for 50% capacity. The solution is simple. A clear statement should be issued to Bus Éireann that the Department of Education and Skills, in conjunction with the Minister's Department, will resource this service to make sure nobody is left behind, after which it will push towards 50% capacity.

The Department must ensure the private transport operators are resourced in order that they can bail out the Government in this regard. I am sorry for eating into my colleague's time.

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