Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am raising the issue today because the deadline is tomorrow. The case I am highlighting is just one of the dozens throughout the country with various anomalies. The reality is that the people in the area I am speaking about have given up applying because they know they fall outside the criteria and they are unlikely to get a concessionary ticket. It is very hard for me to demonstrate the demand when people have given up hope of getting a seat.

This issue did not appear overnight. It has been there for years. It is the epitome of "Computer says 'No'". I could have predicted the response that I got. It does not make sense that 50 children cannot get a bus while 14 children can go to two other schools just because they are 1 km closer. I understand there have to be criteria but surely in this case, and in any other case throughout the country with similar numbers, when it so obvious that a demand-led service is needed it should be taken into consideration.

It is not Bus Éireann's fault. It does a great job every year. It is that Bus Éireann has to stick rigidly to the policy that it is asked to implement. My plea is for flexibility, not only in the situation I have discussed but throughout the country. In several months' time we will be in our constituency clinics receiving emails and getting phone calls from parents who are at the end of their tether having to try to car pool, borrow and steal spins for their children every morning or get grandparents to do the job for them. The case I am discussing involves a straight run down the main road from Cork to Tipperary of no more than 12 minutes to accommodate 50 children. Situations such as this should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I know it is not the Department of the Minister of State but I ask that he brings back this message to the Department of Education.

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