Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank all those who contributed to the debate. Somebody said to me anecdotally that the school bus service was quiet this year and that there were not so many issues with it. After the past three and a half hours, I can see the issues quite clearly. The genuine commitment shown by Members on all sides in respect of school transport issues this afternoon is heartening. Everybody, whether in the opposition or in government, including non-party Members, has a huge commitment to school buses. That reflects on the value that parents and children throughout the country place on school buses. I know that very personally myself. It is heartening that this House has spent over three and a half hours debating it today and Deputies have brought issues from the length and breadth of the country. In the months since coming into this role, not only have I got to know the towns and villages, I have also got to know the crossroads where the challenges lie.

A number of issues were raised in respect of specific schools. We will reflect on them and try to get back to Members.

In excess of ten Members raised the issue of bus drivers aged over 70. As I said at the outset, a report was compiled in August 2024. The programme for Government contains a commitment to having an interdepartmental review of this. That is being done by the Department of Transport. A report is due in the next number of weeks. We are looking forward to that. When the report is submitted, we will certainly bring it to the attention of Members and will reflect on it accordingly. Many people understand that a huge volume of work has been done to increase the capacity of the school bus services across the country.

A number of issues relating to special education were raised. I am quite aware of the challenges with special education in Dublin, Cork and right across the country. The Department and Bus Éireann are working closely to try to find resolutions in this regard. We all came in for criticism in the debate, but we all - me, as Minister of State, the team in the Department of education and the team in Bus Éireann - take our role very seriously. Realistically, we are rolling out a massive service. The support staff are working extremely hard to find solutions. I am always amazed when I go back to either the departmental or Bus Éireann officials and mention a route, a road or an issue, and without even having to go through their system, I discover that they have the necessary knowledge themselves. I pay tribute to the work they have done. They set up the call centres during the summer to try to make sure that adequate information is given to parents. I take on board the concerns and criticisms as well, and I certainly will be reflecting on them.

The other issue that came across was timing. We are looking at that very seriously. We had a number of meetings during the summer months to improve matters in that regard. We were very successful, and I thank the NCSE and others who brought back the date relating to special needs education to 1 October from 1 February. We hope that will have a meaningful role in having a properly planned out system but we need to look at it as well. I understand the frustration.

At my first meeting with departmental officials in Tullamore, I said that the period from 15 August to 1 October is the prime school transport period, but this year it happened earlier. A greater number of tickets were issued in July this year. We did an awful lot of extra work on it. We did a huge amount of planning and work. We also did a huge amount on the pilot schemes, some of which still have to be bedded in. We have given commitments on pilot schemes. The Department and Bus Éireann are working extremely hard to make sure we have those in place.

Another issue relates to drivers and operators. I will not refer to some individual instances that were raised because I do not want those involved to be identifiable. Some of the contractors, for very legitimate reasons, had to bow out, sometimes owing to extremely challenging health issues. We have to respect those who had to bow out. We wish them well, particularly as they had given long service to the Department of education and Bus Éireann over the years. We have to try to find alternatives. A number of routes have been funded and put in place. We are working very closely with local people to try to find operators that can take up the routes. There are many issues in relation to that.

On the taxi system that has been developed in the context of special education, some children need individual transport. We have to be mindful of that. I pay tribute to the taxi companies that provide services for these children for the work they do and for the commitment they give.

The Government is very much committed to the review that was carried out. I understand the issues relating to taking cars off the roads, climate change and everything else, but we have to ensure that we expand the scheme as best we can across the country because it is highly valued, both at primary and post-primary level. We will reflect very carefully on the issues that were raised.

One or two Deputies referred to contractors they knew who would be willing to go into the system. I am only too happy to take any information in that regard, because it is vitally important. The more information we have, the better. We will follow up on any leads that we have regarding contractors or individuals who may be able to help in the context of the challenges we face. It must be reiterated that, in the context of the school transport system and what we are endeavouring to do, the challenges are only in 1% of it.

Members mentioned issues regarding developing a new transport system for different schools. There is a criterion in that regard, but we are looking at where we can help in it. We are mindful that we will deal with the many legitimate challenges put on the record today in a meaningful way.

I assure Members that the Minister and I fully understand the value of the school transport system. We want to expand it in the way outlined in the report in order to facilitate of maybe another 100,000 in the system over the coming years. We will do that. My team in the Department and I and the team in Bus Éireann will work extremely hard to try to find solutions to the challenges Members have raised. I look forward to working with every one of them. If Deputies across the House have specific information, please share it with me or the team and we will follow up on it to see whether it can benefit not just the transport system but, more importantly, the families who rely on, believe in and appreciate the school transport system, both in mainstream education and special education.

I thank all Members for their contributions. We look forward to further discussion on this matter.

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