Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Ardmore-Dungarvan route. For the sake of the written record, I will leave out the first number of paragraphs of the script, as they describe the school bus scheme in some detail and may not be of major relevance.

I will discuss the school transport 2030 report, which was published this year and is the largest review of the school transport scheme since the scheme's establishment in 1967. The Government is working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that we can get another 100,000 pupils on the buses by 2030. The recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money for the Exchequer.

The analysis conducted as part of this comprehensive review has illustrated the importance of school transport to families, but it has also shown how the scheme can support wider Government policies, including climate action targets, supporting working parents, many of whom are dropping their children at Kiely's Cross as the Deputy described, supporting the labour market, supporting families to live and work in rural Ireland and teaching life skills to children. We started to implement the review's recommendations at the start of the year and, subject to resources, we hope to commence implementing the revised criteria in the next school year.

Regarding the topic raised by the Deputy, he will understand that Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes on behalf of the Department. The safety of children on the school transport services is of paramount importance to the Department and Bus Éireann, and so it should be. Due to an increase in the volume of activity at the pickup point in question for the current school year, Bus Éireann has advised that the point is under assessment. Bus Éireann will contact families directly to advise of the outcome of the assessment. I urge it to do so as quickly as possible.

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