Dáil debates
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Adjournment Debate
School Transport.
9:00 pm
Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In June 2007, Srah national school closed and amalgamated with Scoil Náisiúnta an Trian Láir. The new amalgamated school is called Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Ãadaigh.
For primary school children, the school bus route starts at Tourmakeady village in the morning and travels towards Srah village along what is locally known as the low road. The bus picks up four children on the low road, turns at Srah and returns to Tourmakeady along the same road.
There is, however, a top road, that is connected to this low road by a link road that is half a mile long. There are four families with ten children who live on the upper road and all these children attend Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Ãadaigh. It is common sense that for the sake of a few minutes and half a mile of road that the bus should collect the four children on the low road on the way to Srah and return on the top road on its way back to Tourmakeady to facilitate the ten children who live on the upper road. I am asking that the bus travel in a loop instead of going over and back on the same route.
The second issue is even more black and white. When Srah national school, a Gaelscoil, closed in June 2007, and amalgamated with Scoil Náisiúnta an Trian Láir to become Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Ãadaigh, the pupils from Srah were assured by the Department of Education and Science that they would be guaranteed school transport to get to the new school. A child whose name I have given to the Department was attending Srah school in 2007 and lived 1.9 miles from it. That child now attends the new school in Tourmakeady, which is five miles from his home. He applied for school transport but was told by Bus Ãireann that because he was not attending his nearest school, Dereendafderg national school, he could only have transport at a cost of â¬200 per term. This came as a great surprise because Dereendafderg national school closed more than 35 years ago. Srah national school was the closest school when he attended in 2007 and now Tourmakeady is the closest school. The appropriate pick up point for this child is Derassa Cross. The school bus passes this cross anyway, meaning no change is required to the bus route. The child meets all the criteria to receive school transport free of charge. I ask that this is given to him as per his entitlement.
Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome this opportunity to outline to the House the Department's position regarding school transport for the children who attend scoil náisiúnta An Trianlair, County Mayo.
One of the main objectives 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. Approximately 135,000 primary and post-primary pupils use the school transport scheme on a daily basis. The allocation for school transport in 2009 is â¬194 million.
Under the terms of the primary school transport scheme, pupils who reside 3.2 km or more from, and are attending, their nearest suitable national school, as determined by the Department of Education and Science, are eligible for free school transport. Primary school transport routes are generally planned by Bus Ãireann so that, as far as possible, no eligible child will have more than 2.4 km to travel to a pick-up point. Pupils living off the main route of a service are generally expected to make their own way or to be brought to convenient pick-up points along the main route. Home pick-ups were never envisaged as being part of the school transport scheme, as the cost involved on a countrywide level would be prohibitive.
Bus Ãireann, which operates the school transport service on behalf of the Department, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of school bus services. Bus routes are organised in such a way as to ensure that, as far as possible, eligible pupils have a reasonable level of service, while at the same time ensuring school transport vehicles are fully utilised in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
With regard to the specific cases referred to by the Deputy, Bus Ãireann has advised that eligible children from the area in question have a school bus service to scoil náisiúnta An Trianlair within the guidelines of the scheme. However, the families are requesting the route of the existing service be changed. It is not always possible to facilitate families with such an alteration as many factors have to be taken into account, including timetabling, travel and waiting times, the road network and safety.
The planning of a school bus route is an operational matter for Bus Ãireann. Notwithstanding the above, the Department has referred this case to Bus Ãireann for review. The Department will keep Deputy Flynn updated following the review of the case.
I am pursuing the specific details in the case involving an all-Irish education within the Department and with Bus Ãireann. I will respond to Deputy Flynn in this regard as soon as possible.
Deputy Flynn has raised these issues with me on several occasions. I thank her for the clarity of her presentation this evening. I have endeavoured to get Bus Ãireann to bring these issues to a close and I will revert to the Deputy as soon as possible. I thank her again for raising these matters.