Noel Grealish (Galway West, Progressive Democrats)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the matter of the school bus transport system. I have pursued this issue, through various channels, since the beginning of the year but I regret my efforts have ultimately proved unsuccessful. This is a matter not just of common sense, but of fairness.

The catchment areas for our school transport system were first put in place in the 1960s. Consequently, they are not only out of date but wholly inadequate. I understand from my correspondence with the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy de Valera, that the school transport system was not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send their children to a school outside the catchment area where they live. This makes no sense. While we must have order and a workable system, unless parents are acting in an unreasonable manner, the system should facilitate them.

A school transport system which, in the case of the constituency of Galway West, cannot transport 130 children to school is a failing system. School transport catchment areas may be in place to protect the number of pupils enrolling in various schools. When the parents of 130 children in Claregalway and Carnmore in the Galway city catchment area are effectively denied a school bus system, with the result they must drive their children to school, the system has clearly become unfair.

Considering my own area, approximately three or four miles from the Oranmore school where 130 pupils are in attendance, the school bus system going into Galway city is at capacity. Even if the pupils were going to a school in the city, another bus service would have to be put on for them. It is unfair that in the region of 100 parents are driving their kids to school in the mornings. A recent survey done in Dublin indicated that 70% of parents are beginning to drive their children to school. That is wrong, and we should really examine the school transport system.

Parents have a right, within reason, to send their children to whatever nearby school they choose. The school has the right, within reason, to be served by the school bus system. In raising this issue I also suggest a solution. Consideration could be given to making locations like Claregalway a dual catchment area for the purpose of school bus transport. If 130 children from the Claregalway and Carnmore areas are travelling to school in Oranmore despite being in the Galway city catchment area, change is needed.

If it is the case that new legislation is required to end this, we should get on with it. This House is often accused of working on legislation which has little real effect on the daily lives of families. Furthermore, legislators often claim that many of the daily issues are out of their control. From what I can gather, this is one issue causing significant hardship for hundreds of families across this country and not just in Galway. It affects many schools across the country, and it is an issue on which we can make a positive difference.

I ask the Minister of State to examine this matter closely and commit to seeking and enacting measures to end this unfair and nonsensical situation. The parents of these schoolchildren, the pupils themselves and the schools deserve no less.

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the general position regarding school transport for children residing in the Galway city, Oranmore and Claregalway areas. Under the terms of my Department's post-primary school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if he or she resides 4.8 km or more from his or her local post-primary education centre, that is, the centre serving the catchment area in which he or she lives.

The scheme is not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send their children to a post-primary centre outside of the catchment area in which they reside. However, children who are fully eligible for transport to the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which they reside may apply for transport on a concessionary basis to a post-primary centre outside of their own catchment area. This is otherwise known as catchment boundary transport. I should emphasise, however, that these children can only be facilitated if spare seats are available on the bus after all other eligible children travelling to the post-primary centre in which they live have been catered for. Such children have to make their own way to the nearest pick-up point within that catchment area.

Catchment boundaries have their origins in the establishment of free post-primary education in the late 1960s. For planning purposes, the country was divided into geographical districts, each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary education centre with one or more post-primary schools. The intention was that these defined districts would facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. They also facilitated the provision of a national school transport service, enabling children from remote areas to get to their nearest school.

Reviews of specific catchment boundaries may be carried out where appropriate. A number of reviews have been carried out over the years where, for example, a new post-primary school is established in an area where previously there was none or, conversely, where a "sole provider" school closes due to declining enrolment.

The area development planning initiative, involving an extensive consultative process carried out by the Commission on School Accommodation, will also inform future revisions to catchment areas. An area development plan takes account of demographic changes and projects future enrolments for existing schools and new schools if required.

Catchment boundary changes will be made where the implementation of the recommendations in an area development plan requires such adjustments. Catchment boundaries have provided and continue to provide a very useful tool in facilitating the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs and the operation of the national school transport service.

The Deputy will be aware that the provision of school transport is a massive logistical operation involving the transportation by Bus Éireann of over 135,000 children each day to primary and post-primary schools, including more than 8,000 children with special educational needs. While individual cases involving a pupil's eligibility for school transport are brought to my Department's attention from time to time, such cases are generally dealt with under the terms of the school transport scheme. Persons who are not satisfied with my Department's decision may appeal to the independent school transport appeals board.

I have no plans to review the catchment areas for Galway City, Oranmore and Claregalway, and school transport will continue to be provided under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme.