Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for taking the time to come into the House for this Topical Issue. I am sure many Deputies, Senators and councillors throughout the country will agree with me when I say representations about school transport are consistently among the most difficult issues that come before our constituency offices.

The issues centre around pick-up points, spaces, eligibility, concessionary tickets, designated closest schools and roads that are not on the bus routes. According to regulations the school transport scheme provides transport for children who live 3.2 km or more from their local primary school. To qualify for school transport a child much be aged between four and 12 years and living 3.2 km or more from the nearest suitable national school. The Department of Education decides as to the nearest suitable school. If a child is attending a school that has more than one teacher and if there is a one-teacher school nearer to home that fact will not usually disqualify the child from using the school transport scheme. The scheme is not a door-to-door service. Parents and guardians are responsible for bringing the children to the nearest pick-up point to avail of the service. As I understand it, generally routes are planned so that pupils do not have to travel more than 2.4 km to the nearest pick-up point.

These are the general rules as applied even when a situation is presented, for example, a request to change the pick-up point that would save eight children and four families from getting in the car to drive 1.7 km to a shop or pub location on the main road. I know of a woman in County Leitrim with twin babies who every morning must put her twins into the car to drive her five-year-old the 1.7 km. She obviously cannot leave the babies on their own, as her husband has already gone to work. The mother came to me, having being told by the Bus Éireann official that she needs to contact her local representative. When contacted, the bus inspector told me the rules are the rules, he cannot make an exception. It is very frustrating.

A review of the school transport scheme has recommended changes to how the scheme works so that more students can use buses by 2030. It recommends removing the nearest school requirement if there are existing school routes or if there is enough demand for a new route, by at least ten pupils, and reducing the distance required for pupils to qualify for the school transport scheme. This is a welcome development but much more needs to be done and it needs to happen much more quickly. In recent times, the Government has poured money into providing free school books and hot meals in some schools, all of which are very welcome initiatives. However, what I am listening to on the doorsteps over the past number of weeks during the local and European elections, is that the Government must fix the school transport system, and fund it, before we embark on any further spending ideas and programmes.

We need more workers in our economy. This is an opportunity to allow working parents to leave for work, comfortable in the knowledge that their children have a flexible school transfer system that picks them up at a reasonable distance from the home, to the school that is conveniently located. Working parents are prepared to pay for such a service. It needs to be flexible. There needs to be a bus inspector who can work outside draconian rules and regulations and allow common sense to prevail. We also need new bus drivers and buses. That possibly can be achieved by allowing people over 70 to drive the bus, once they pass a yearly medical. A proper school bus system in urban Ireland will reduce car journeys, free up our streets from choking morning traffic and reduce our carbon footprint. If the Minister of State is in a position to have the extra funding available, I appeal to him to prioritise the school transport system. Working parents need it, children need it and the environment needs it.

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