Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not get a chance to respond to Deputy Ó Laoghaire but I will come back to him at another time.

The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year more than 161,000 children, including more than 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported daily to primary and post-primary schools. As referenced earlier, the total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02 million. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023-2024 school year in comparison to the 2022-2023 school year, which again points to the importance of the school transport scheme.

Everybody is aware of the criteria. At primary school level the student must reside not less 3.2 km from and attend their nearest national school. At post-primary level they must reside not less than 4.8 km from and attend their nearest post-primary school. The school transport scheme is a demand-led scheme based on the number of children who apply. The scheme is operated using a mix of Bus Éireann owned vehicles and directly recruited drivers and private contractors who recruit their own drivers to operate on the scheme. As part of the operation of the scheme, Bus Éireann manages the procurement tender process and contract management arrangements to include services provided by contractors under the school transport scheme. There are currently in the region of 7,000 vehicles operating on the scheme. The competitive procurement process is conducted in accordance with the negotiated procedure under national and EU procurement legislation.

As more than 90% of school bus services are contracted locally, each contractor recruits school bus drivers directly. Each contractor is responsible for ensuring that all the required training has been provided to their drivers and that all the necessary licences and professional standards are in place. The safety of children and young people using the school transport scheme is of paramount importance, and we all appreciate that.

While Bus Éireann advertises for contractors through eTenders in accordance with national and EU procurement legislation, it has also sought taxi or bus operators through a mix of targeted campaigns through NTA bulletins.

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