Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. In the current school year, more than 173,000 children have been transported daily in approximately 8,200 vehicles across 10,600 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

In relation to the number of children who applied and paid on time and were unsuccessful in obtaining a seat in the 2024-25 school year, Bus Éireann has advised that 1,343 ineligible applicants, otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and 899 new applications for families of eligible children did not obtain seats. Ineligible applicants were for a mainstream scheme where a service existed. The families of eligible children were offered a remote area grant due to no service existing. Both groups comprise a total of 2,242 children for the 2024-25 school year.

Temporary alleviation measures will continue for the 2025-26 school year at post-primary level. A phased implementation of School Transport 2030 began at the start of the 2024-25 school year. This involved a number of pilot programmes held in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann.

A total of 14 pilot programmes were conducted in the 2024-25 school year. These will provide valuable insights into the impact of increased demand on the scheme, the potential for integrating public transport with school transport and opportunities to promote more sustainable modes of transport. It is intended to continue the current pilots for the upcoming school year.

Work is also under way to identify where further pilot programmes may be conducted. Implementation of the review’s recommendations will continue to be planned, subject to the availability of resources.

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