Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

I look forward to more visits to east Cork over the next number of years. When a rural school closes, there is a void and almost a grieving process within the community in which the school is located. One guarantee that was given way back when the amalgamations took place was that there would be an adequate bus service to get students from that location to the central school. It was always indicated that at primary level, we would guarantee that a bus service would be available. Boundaries, catchment areas and different regulations have developed over the past 50 to 60 years regarding transporting children to school so we must make sure we are looking at the here and now. School communities are hugely important. They are hugely important for children going to school and for the identity of the area but we must make sure are doing the best with the resources that are available to us to make sure we accommodate every child insofar as it is possible.

I will endeavour to work with the Deputy on this issue. The Department and Bus Éireann are evaluating all the pilot projects around the country. When that is done, we will look at how best we can face the future in terms of providing a better service. We are unable to share that information until it has been pulled together and studied. When this has been done, we will share the information. I will keep in close contact with the Deputy over the next number of months. The closing date for payment is in June while the closing date for application was last week. We will be working throughout the summer to ensure we have the best possible service. We had a number of meetings with officials from the Department yesterday to outline the issues we have.

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