Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Before I address the specific issues raised, I would like to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, SEN, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for more than 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9 million. The scheme is an important service for families and children. 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. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023-24 school year in comparison to the 2023-23 school year. Already more than 133,000 tickets have issued for the 2023-24 school year, which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the previous school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022-23 school year.

With regard to SEN transport services, to date, more than 4,200 new applications have been received for SEN transport for the 2023-24 school year, with some 1,400 of these having been received since July alone. This compares to some 3,670 new applications received at this time last year. To date, transport has been provided for more than 3,000 new applicants for the 2023-24 school year, with transport being provided for more than 19,000 pupils in the current school year. The Department continues to receive applications all year round.

As the Deputy will be aware, a review of the school transport scheme is nearing completion. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately. The final report of the review will include recommendations on the future operation of the Department's school transport scheme. Once approved by the Government, it is planned that the review will be published.

On the topic raised by the Deputy, Bus Éireann has confirmed that no services were cancelled; in fact, in this case services were secured and tickets issued in good faith only for the routes to be handed back at the last minute. Bus Éireann has advised of significant shortages of drivers in the labour market overall and competing demands for drivers to deliver additional public transport initiatives such as Connecting Ireland, Bus Connects and Local Link services. Bus Éireann is continuing to prioritise sourcing vehicles and drivers. However, it has confirmed that, as of 21 September, a number of routes remain without a service. This equates to less than 1.5% of pupils, or less than 2% of vehicles, with services being provided for more than 98% of pupils on a daily basis.

With regard to the provision of services for children with special educational needs, as of 21 September, Bus Éireann confirmed that the number affected is estimated at approximately 1.3% of pupils. Some services are expected to resume as soon as an escort has been sourced and we are working with schools to ensure the resources are put in place.

See this speech in context