Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I pleaded at a meeting of the Business Committee recently, maybe two weeks ago, for this debate to take place. I thank the Chief Whip for accommodating it and the Minister of State for attending today.

Deputy Gogarty asked who is going to be fired. There has to be significant movement from the Minister of State's end on resolving the crisis. I plead with him in this regard. He is not long in his position, so he can take only take a very small fraction of the blame here – let us be honest – but unfortunately I have been nine years asking the same questions. Others who are here longer are not getting answers. It is time for clear answers to come into play here.

Everybody is pointing the finger when it comes to the over-70s. I will touch on that in a minute. Once again, we are back here discussing the ongoing circus that is the school bus system. Year after year, we are promised change, especially regarding the closest-school rule, yet here we are facing the same issues.

In Ballinadee, 20 to 30 children who are eligible - not concessionary - have been left without school transport. These families were told at the start of the school year that a bus would be provided. Days before school began, they were informed that there would be no bus and they would have to make their own arrangements. Last week, Bus Éireann did a U-turn on this. Last Thursday or Friday, it communicated to parents that the service would resume. They received that confirmation, but yesterday morning no bus arrived. It is an absolute farce. You could not believe it. I have seen it. I was sent the messages from Bus Éireann.

Of course, when we contact Bus Éireann, as Deputy Gould and others said, it is hidden behind a shield because the Government is sparing its blushes. The Government is backing it, as is the Minister of State, if he will not stand up here tonight to say they will make it answerable. Once the Minister of State does that, things will move. If he fails to do that, he is failing in his duty, as his predecessors have failed. This is a scandalous situation. A proper message was not even sent out to these parents until yesterday afternoon. Imagine having your children at the side of the road waiting for a bus they were promised that never turned up. I was promised it as a public representative. I cannot deal with anybody any more. The Minister of State is only acknowledging a bare message. Bus Éireann could not bother its arse acknowledging any message. It is above us as public representatives, and above parents and everybody. Everybody is above everyone here but no one is taking accountability for what is going on.

The bottom line is this is a scandalous situation that the Government is standing over year after year. Throughout this debacle, I have made repeated representations to Bus Éireann, to the Oireachtas team, to the Cork contact and to the Minister of State's office. All I have received in return are acknowledgements. It is an absolute disgrace that in 2025 we have to come to the Dáil to demand basic school transport for eligible children. Will the Minister of State rectify this situation immediately and ensure these families get the service they were promised?

This is not an isolated case. We also have a case at Kilcoe, Skibbereen, where 12 students in my constituency were told days before school started that they would not receive tickets, despite a 45-seater bus running with only 20 seats filled. Again, I have made numerous representations and received only acknowledgements. I am told there is a guarantee these students will not be left behind as happened in Ballinadee.

While we at it, the situation with drivers aged over 70 is ludicrous. These drivers can pick up students and take them to swimming classes or school tours, etc., but Bus Éireann will not allow them take students to school. I am not blaming Bus Éireann. In the audiovisual room today, I asked whether the Minister has any responsibility. The drivers told me that yes, she does. The Government is pointing the finger at Bus Éireann, Bus Éireann is pointing the finger back at the Government and, nine years later, we have no answers. It has gone beyond a farcical joke. We need answers from the Minister of State. I look forward to answers from him to see whether there is a way forward. Will he stand up for healthy bus drivers over 70 who have a medical certificate and say, "Yes, you can drive with a medical certificate"?

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