Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government tells us all eligible children will be accommodated. That is a careful use of words, which hides the fact that thousands of children who would have been accommodated in previous years have been excluded from school transport scheme this year. Covid-19 is a factor, but the Government's complete failure to plan, prepare and deliver is a larger one. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, was consulted but the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, was not. That tells us everything we need to know.

This case is particular but it is not unique. The families tried to fund the service themselves this year. The bus company needed €50 per child per week, €80 for two children and €120 for three children. That was a significant expense, which families simply could not meet. It has caused chaos, turning daily schedules on their heads, cramming kids into cars and putting more cars on the road. Will the Minister instruct the NTA and Flexibus to reinstate funding for the service, or intervene with the Minister for Education and Skills and Bus Éireann?

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