Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to raise an important issue which affects my constituency. Like the previous speaker, I regret that no Minister of State from the relevant Department is available. It is no disrespect to the Minister of State who is present to say he is producing a script. I welcome him, he has the answer prepared, but what is the point in my saying anything? He knows nothing about the issue, and cannot since it is not his responsibility, yet he is dispatched to disrespect Members of the House — I am not talking of the Minister of State but the Government——

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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Did the Deputy never do that when he was a Minister?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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One Minister of State from the Department of Health and Children handling a cross-departmental range of issues and reading out a prepared script is a disrespect.

I will give the last minute of my time to Deputy Kehoe. This is a very important issue, one of the most intractable and frustrating issues I have dealt with in my time in this House. The pupils in the growing village of Blackwater in County Wexford have traditionally, by and large, gone to secondary schools in Wexford town. Some have gone to Kilmuckridge but, by and large, the pattern over decades has seen the majority going to secondary school in Wexford town, a pattern which continues to this day.

For some inexplicable reason, the catchment boundary for the provision of school transport to these pupils became an issue some years ago and the facility to provide transport for these pupils was withdrawn. The result is that there are now 49 young people from the Blackwater area literally left on the side of the road. After much agitation it was finally decided and agreed on 13 October last by Wexford VEC, the school transport office and Bus Éireann that at least 23 of these pupils were eligible, properly and legitimately, for school transport as they resided in the catchment boundary for Wexford town. No tickets have issued to these pupils. No transport has been provided despite the fact they were notified formally by the school liaison officer and moneys were accepted. The latest twist in the tail of this ongoing disgraceful saga was on 9 November when parents were informed by the transport liaison officer that when she, the transport liaison officer properly authorised to deal with these matters, requested transport for these pupils, the Department of Education and Science was not in a position to sanction transport for these 23 pupils because of a mapping discrepancy.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to convey to the Minister for Education and Science the real and palpable anger in County Wexford, especially in the Blackwater area, on this issue. There is a deliberate frustration of the rights of these pupils and their parents by the Minister for Education and Science in this matter. Sight unseen the Department has declared them ineligible even though they are within the revised boundary submitted in what is described and accepted in Wexford as a gerrymandered map which I have and which the Department has belatedly produced. It could not be the original map because it has references on it to areas that did not exist at the time the original map was drawn up.

The frustration needs to be brought to an end. I ask the Minister of State present — unfortunately it is not the Minister responsible for these matters — to explain how this pattern of abuse has continued for these children and their parents and when it will end. When will these pupils be given the proper transport to carry on their education like every other citizen in the State?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Howlin for sharing time. I am disappointed the Minister for Education and Science is not present to take this Adjournment matter. I will spell out what could make a difference in this case. A 52-seater bus put on this route would solve the problem. While the Government wastes millions of euro in each Department, it is unable to put a 52-seater bus on this route. What grieves me is that other areas in a similar position to Blackwater have been sorted out. However, Blackwater is left in a position where it has no school transport for its children.

Some seven or eight children are already in receipt of school transport from Bus Éireann, yet their siblings are unable to gain access to school transport. That is a scandal. I have a happy letter and a sad letter. The happy one, which is from County Wexford Vocational Education Committee and which states that only 23 students from Blackwater will be categorised as eligible, was received on 13 October. On 21 October I received a letter to the effect that once the forms are processed through Bus Éireann they would receive their tickets. On 21 November the Department of Education and Science wrote to the County Wexford VEC stating that the students are not within the catchment area and will not receive school transport from Bus Éireann. That is a scandal. I am disappointed the Minister is not present to hear our plea.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I welcome this opportunity to outline to the House the Department's position regarding school transport for children residing——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The normal courtesy is to explain where the Minister is and if she is on official business. Is there a reason neither the Minister nor the Minister of State is present?

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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All I know is that I was asked——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am not blaming the Minister of State.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I understand that. To answer the Deputy's question, I have no reason. I welcome the opportunity to outline to the House the Department's position on school transport for children residing in the Blackwater area of County Wexford.

One of the main objects of the school transport scheme is to provide a basic level of service for children who live long distances from schools and who might otherwise experience difficulty in attending regularly. More than 135,000 primary and post-primary pupils use the school transport scheme on a regular basis. The expenditure for school transport in 2005 will be more than €120 million which is an increase of approximately 10% on last year's outturn. This includes the cost of a comprehensive package of measures which the Minister announced earlier in the year to address the phasing out of the three for two seating arrangement on school buses. Transport costs and grant aid for children with special needs will account for approximately 33% of the expenditure in 2005. These children represent approximately 6% of the overall number of children carried each day.

I wish to focus on the specific issue of transport provision for children attending post-primary schools. For the purposes of post-primary education provision, the country is divided into catchment areas, each of which has its own post-primary centre. Under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for school transport if he or she resides 4.8 km, three miles, or more from the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which he or she lives.

Eligible pupils who wish to attend post-primary schools in another catchment area may be allowed transport on school services from within the catchment boundary of the centre being attended subject to there being seats available on the school transport service and at no additional cost to the State. The pupils are responsible for getting to the catchment boundary or to the nearest school bus service within that catchment area.

An eligible pupil who is approved for catchment boundary transport is not guaranteed school transport for the duration of his or her education at that centre. As a concessionary measure, continued transport will depend on the availability of seats on the school service to that centre each school term.

Children living in the Blackwater area of County Wexford are in the Kilmuckridge catchment area. Parents who choose to send their children to the Wexford post-primary centre——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Some 23 pupils were notified by the school transport officer that is not the case.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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——can only be facilitated with school transport to that centre after all other eligible pupils from within the Wexford catchment area have been accommodated and provided there are spare seats on the bus to that centre. I understand from Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport services on behalf of the Department that a number of pupils residing in the Kilmuckridge catchment area have in the past been accommodated with catchment boundary transport.

This year an issue appears to have arisen locally about the catchment boundary line. I assure the Deputy the Department is satisfied, based on the map held within the Department that children——

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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That is not acceptable.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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——residing in the Blackwater area are within the Kilmuckridge catchment area. The school authorities in the Kilmuckridge post-primary centre have confirmed that between 30 and 40 additional children can be accommodated in that centre.