Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps she has taken to prevent another child being left on the side of the road, as happened recently in New Ross and was reported widely in the media, due to Bus Éireann's policy of no ticket, no travel. [27828/05]

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the case referred to by the Deputy. A report on the circumstances of the case has been requested from Bus Éireann, which organises the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department. When this report has been received, the Department will advise the Deputy of the position.

In regard to the general administration of the school transport scheme, Bus Éireann issues tickets or travel permits to pupils who have been approved for transport on a service. In addition to specifying the pupil's name, the pick-up and set-down point and the period of validity, the permit specifies that pupils must carry tickets at all times when travelling to and from school. In addition, the invoice issued by Bus Éireann in respect of tickets specifies that only those pupils in possession of a valid permit will be carried on a transport service. In line with transport systems in general, this is deemed to be the most appropriate method of identification and allows drivers and other personnel to control travel and regulate loadings.

I am advised by Bus Éireann that listings of pupils who have been issued with tickets for the current term will be issued to bus operators in mid-October. Such an arrangement is not possible in the case of pupils who avail of scheduled public transport services. The issue of listings at an earlier date is not possible due to the number of late applications and late payments received in school transport offices throughout the country. It would be of little benefit issuing such lists until Bus Éireann is satisfied the vast bulk of tickets have been issued and that the listing represents a true reflection of all pupils who are authorised to travel.

More than 134,000 pupils are carried by in excess of 3,000 vehicles under my Department's school transport scheme. In view of the recent focus on safety measures for school transport and the obvious administrative burden in operating a scheme of this size, the Deputy will appreciate the importance of ensuring only those pupils who have been approved transport can avail of the service and that additional pupils who may compromise safety measures are not carried.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. A situation whereby a child is left on the side of the road, with the consequent risks to his or her safety, is tantamount to criminality, according to the headmaster of Ramsgrange community school. When does the Minister of State expect the report on this incident to be published? I presume she does not have the details of this particular case but the point of major concern for parents is that a child should be abandoned on a roadside. According to media reports, the driver knew that the child in question had a ticket but had forgotten it that morning.

What assurances can the Minister of State give parents that this will not happen again? The school transport scheme caters for more than 130,000 children but we must focus on those cases in which problems have arisen. When will the report on this incident be available? What assurances can the Minister of State give parents who leave their children to the bus that they will actually get on the bus? Is there any assurance that such an incident will not happen again? Has the Minister of State met Bus Éireann on this case and laid down a marker for the future that no child should be left on the side of the road? Parents have enough concerns about their children going to school without this extra concern. I was contacted by a number of families who were concerned the same would happen to their child.

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Deputy's concern and am aware of the case. I look forward to hearing from Bus Éireann when its report is to hand.

On the operational matter, there is a practical difficulty for drivers in many cases because they may not necessarily be able to identify all the children. Bus operators operate on a panel system of nominated drivers and are interchangeable. Therefore, they may not necessarily know the identity of all pupils. As I said in my reply, the child must have a ticket to travel which must be in his or her possession. The invoice issued by Bus Éireann states that a child can only travel if he or she has a ticket. I have been asked if there is a possibility of providing a list which could be made available to the drivers. The drivers could immediately check the list and that might circumvent these issues.

While that is one way of dealing with the issue, there can be a number of problems with that system in that a large number of late applications and those who are eligible and make late payments cause difficulties. Although they are eligible, they may not have made an application or if they have made an application, they have not paid. Therefore there is a delay at the beginning of a term which causes difficulty. Perhaps we should look at the question of a timeframe for receipt of applications by the Department. A list system is of little use unless the bulk of the children have tickets and the names are available. I am informed that the names for this term will be available in mid-October which is any day now.

Some 10,000 pupils travel on various types of scheduled services for whom it would not be feasible to have listings. However, I take the Deputy's point seriously. We are having discussions with Bus Éireann — we have regular positive contact with it — to consider specific operational matters, especially the operation of tickets, with a view to seeing what can be done in a case such as that outlined by the Deputy.