Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Before I address it specifically, I wish to provide the House an outline of the extent of the school transport service.

School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year, more than 114,000 children, including more than 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of more than €224.7 million in 2020. The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. Under the terms of the primary and post-primary scheme, children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria - 3.2 km at primary level and 4.8 km at post-primary level - and are attending their nearest schools or education centres as determined by the Department or Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time are accommodated on school transport services for the 2021-2022 school year where such services are in operation. Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will 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 using an agreed selection process. Concessionary transport is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and payment of the annual charge. 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 children travelling on a concessionary basis.

As referenced by the Deputy, a review of the school transport scheme is under way with a view to taking a fresh look at the service and its broader effectiveness and sustainability. Given the evolving situation with Covid-19, the steering group's work on the review has been delayed. However, I am pleased to confirm that an initial meeting of the steering group was recently held in order to recommence the process, which will continue over the coming period. The review is being conducted to ensure that the school transport system is fit for purpose and serves students and their families adequately. The review will build on the proposals in the programme for Government as they relate to school transport, for example, by examining the options to reduce car journeys, assessing how the school transport scheme can work in liaison with the Safe Routes to Schools programme and examining the options for providing better value and a better service for students, including issues such as the nearest or next nearest school.

It is planned that the steering group will report to me on an interim basis as the review progresses, with a view to presenting a final report later this year with recommendations on the future operation of the Department's school transport scheme. The steering group will report to me initially on preliminary findings regarding eligibility before moving to consider and report on broader issues such as the objectives of the scheme and its alignment with other initiatives and wider Government policy.

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