Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister. Last year's free school transport scheme was fantastic. It had its teething problems but the very concept of it was one of the most positive we have had in years. Our colleague in the Government, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, believes in public transport, as we all do. While it takes years to build railway networks, which are very linear and do not go everywhere, a school bus is transformative in a rural community. It takes 50 passengers and keeps 50 cars at home, which allows parents to go to work and save some time in the mornings. It was one of the best schemes I have seen this Government introduce. I would love to see it rolled out even further. As someone said to me, five buses equals one train. We can get to wherever we want to get to from a climate change perspective much quicker by having buses on the road.

I used to teach in Parteen school, which is a small rural school, where each morning and afternoon 340 school drop-offs had to be done. Imagine what could be saved if we had more school transport. I again praise the Minister and her officials. I would love to see the school transport scheme expanded even further.

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