David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

The school transport system is simply not up to standard. As previous speakers said, every year in the first week or second week back after the summer recess we are dealing with the same issues. In fact, all of our constituency offices are inundated in the months of July and August, but particularly August, with parents who are frustrated with the eligibility criteria, the concessionary criteria, the fact their child has not got a place or the fact they have not got the ticket, or they are waiting for their ticket to come. It is frustration after frustration. It was interesting to hear some of the Government representatives. Deputy Cleere was one of them. He said the Minister was doing a great job, but then listed nearly every town and village in Kilkenny where there are problems. I am not sure what great job the Minister is doing. He said the Minister was doing a great job and that all we need is a bus and a driver. I would have thought it was fairly obvious that for children we need buses and drivers. If we do not have buses and drivers, then we do not have school places. Rather than giving the Minister a pat on the back on one hand and then saying there are problems in every part of his constituency, we need the Government to implement the recommendations in the report it commissioned, most of which have not been implemented.

In my constituency of Waterford, I was inundated with calls from the east of the county, from Dunmore East, to the west of the county, from families in Lismore where children did not have places, or whose tickets were late coming. In almost every part of rural Waterford there are problems every single year. It is very often the same families coming to us. One email I reviewed during the summer said that for three years in a row there have been problems. For three years in a row, we have been trying to help and assist through our offices, but it should not take people having to go to their local TD to try to raise issues with Bus Éireann or with the Department to get it sorted. It is not beyond us to have a properly functioning school transport system, but it seems to be beyond this Government.

I am afraid that I am not going to give the Minister a false pat on the back and say that the Government is doing a great job. It simply is not. The system is not up to standard. We need serious investment and reform of the system if we want to make it fit for purpose.

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