Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I appreciate the concerns of and pressures on the parents in his constituency. At the moment, the school transport scheme sees about 172,000 children transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes. It is a very complex scheme. It includes over 143,800 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services. There are also the special education needs services and so forth. In the context of the review of the scheme, a total of 14 pilot projects are under way this school year and funding has been provided for them. Essentially, however, we need to get through the completion of those pilots with a view to lessons being learned for application across the system. I do not understate what is required here or the challenges that will be involved. They will be significant.

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