Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the opportunity to raise this important issue. The changes to the post-primary school transport scheme due to take effect in September stem from the ending of the catchment boundary system and the new requirement of attendance at a student's nearest school. I understand the changes stem from the value for money review carried out of school transport which was initiated following a substantial increase in the cost of school transport. This new requirement of attendance at a student's nearest school must be reviewed and changed.

Any change to the school transport system can cause serious difficulties in a particular area and have an impact on many families. I have an example in my county. Students at second level from Kingscourt, County Cavan have traditionally attended schools in either Carrickmacross, Balieborough or Nobber. That pattern of attendance has been established between the three post-primary centres. Last week a large number of parents in Kingscourt received their first communication from Bus Éireann stating their children would not be eligible for transport to a certain school. The correspondence I saw referred to children enrolled in Carrickmacross. In the case of some families, older siblings have attended school in Carrickmacross and a younger sibling is due to attend for the first time in September. The student has been enrolled and the parents have purchased the uniform and books. Such parents have now received a communication from Bus Éireann stating the nearest school is Nobber, County Meath and that transport will only be provided to Carrickmacross on a concessionary basis if a seat is available on the bus. There are substantial costs involved for families, whether they have a medical card.

The Minister of State, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and I represent rural constituencies and are very cognisant of the difficulties when changes are made to school transport systems. Where a pattern of attendance has been established over a period of years, the nearest school requirement should not be given effect. The Minister of State is aware of the school transport system which operates in his constituency and I ask him to ensure the Department review this issue as a matter of urgency.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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I also have serious concerns about the impact of the changes to the post-primary school transport scheme. Schools in rural areas or smaller towns in County Tipperary such as Borrisoleigh, Templemore, Killenaule, Ballingarry and others are concerned that the changes will drastically affect their viability, as they will radically limit the number of children who can avail of subsidised transport. This is pertinent, given the severe financial pressure to which many families are subject. The difference between paying for a bus service and securing subsidised transport may be large enough to swing the decision to enrol a child in one school over another. As a result of this revised transport scheme, parents are faced with an impossible situation whereby they may already have children enrolled in a secondary school but have now discovered that younger children who wish to enroll in that school will not be entitled to subsidised transport. In these difficult times, the burden of paying €350 for school transport is often too much to bear and a parent must consider the possibility of sending a child to a different school from the school attended by his siblings. Separating family members is clearly not desirable and will only result in families being placed under additional pressure with different pick-up points and collection times.

I have several specific concerns with the operation of the scheme. Several discrepancies in County Tipperary have been brought to my attention. Specifically I have been contacted regarding bus routes to secondary schools that serve more than one school. Several schools in my constituency are facing a situation whereby numerous pupils have been informed that they are not entitled to subsidised transport to a given school because there is another school closer to the child's home. This is despite the fact that the school bus serves the school and that, geographically, it is further from the child's house when the bus travels on to a second school which is closer to the child's home. Essentially, this means pupils will be subsidised for a longer journey and will not be subsided to the closest school according to the bus route although there are places on the bus and that bus passes the school of their choice. This is a particular issue in the Killenaule area. This is an illogical decision and it has angered many families. I have been contacted by parents who have been informed that their child only qualifies for subsidised transport to the second school as it is the closest school having regard to a walking route. The walking route referred to in this instance is 10 km long through boreens not fit for vehicles. The decisions to refuse someone on these grounds is devoid of common sense.

I would appreciate if the Minister could provide clarification on what is deemed to be an appropriate school. I have spoken to several parents who, having made an application, were refused subsidised transport for a chosen school based solely on the grounds of distance. I call on the Minister of State to provide clarification on whether a child is entitled to subsidised transport to travel marginally further to a school that matches the ethos and beliefs of the family. Will the Minister of State provide information on exactly how the closest appropriate school is decided? I call on the Minster to ensure that any application decided solely on the basis of distance grounds should be reviewed along with the issue of buses serving several schools.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on the Department's behalf and more than 82 million km are covered annually. In the region of 113,000 children, including more than 8,000 children with special needs, are transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

The current system for determining eligibility for school transport at post-primary level has been in place for more than 40 years. When the Government announced the introduction of free post-primary education in 1966, the country was divided for planning purposes into geographic districts, also referred to as catchment areas. Each area had several primary schools feeding into a post-primary centre with one or more post-primary schools. Post-primary pupils are eligible for transport if they reside 4.8 km or more from their local post-primary education centre, that is, the centre serving the catchment area in which they live. The definition of school transport catchment boundaries has been the cause of many submissions and representations to the Department over the years. It is widely considered by many that the current catchment boundary areas do not reflect changed demographics. Changes in the post-primary school transport scheme were announced in the 2011 budget. This was passed in December 2010 under a different mandate.

One of the changes to take effect from the commencement of the 2012-13 school year means that the use of the catchment area system as a means of determining eligibility will cease for all pupils newly entering a post-primary school. From this date, school transport eligibility for all new pupils entering a post-primary school will be determined by reference to the distance they reside from their nearest post-primary education centre, having regard to ethos and language. This will applied equitably on a national basis. In general, eligible pupils, who are currently availing of school transport and who meet the distance criterion of 4.8 km, will retain their eligibility for the duration of their post-primary education, provided there is no change in their current circumstances. Pupils who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis subject to a number of conditions which are detailed in the scheme. The general approach of the Department in respect of the planning of school infrastructure is to plan on the basis of attendance of pupils at their nearest primary schools and that those primary schools then feed into attendance at the nearest post-primary schools or the nearest post-primary centre generally. The changes announced in post-primary school transport services are in line with this approach and will result in a more efficient and cost-effective system.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. However, it is not a more cost effective scheme for many parents who must share substantial additional costs. In the reply to a parliamentary question the Department was only able to estimate the proposed savings from the introduction of this measure. Therefore, there must only be minimal savings. The implementation of this new regulation will impose undue hardship on many families. We will see ridiculous situations such as older siblings attending one school in a post-primary centre and their younger siblings attending a different post-primary centre. Some pupils have been enrolled in certain schools already and parents have bought uniforms and books. These children are ready to start in their new school next September. I believe that the new regulation will be inoperable in some cases where there has been a pattern of attendance at particular post-primary centres established over the years.

I appeal to the Minister of State and the Department to review this issue because it will not bring about substantial savings. In many cases the scheme will be inoperable and there is a need for flexibility to provide an important school transport service especially for rural Ireland. The Department should consider localising the provision of school transport. Over the years the introduction of the devolved building grants scheme has been successful. More has been achieved with less expenditure. The same could be achieved in the provision of school transport. I call on the Minister to ask his officials to take an urgent look at this case.

I call on the Minister of State to discuss another matter with the building unit in the Department. We are awaiting the provision of a new second level school in Kingscourt. The provision of the new school was approved in March 2009. Much preparatory work has been done with regard to design and a site has been purchased.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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That is a separate Topical Issue.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The patronage issue has been resolved. I call on the Minister of State to ensure that building project is advanced. If that were the case I would not have transport problems to bring to his attention involving where children go to post-primary centres.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I was wondering where that was going. Deputy Lowry has one minute to speak on the issue of schools transport only.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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The difficulty with the new scheme as it has been put in place is that the people who make the decisions about the routes have no geographical knowledge whatsoever. These decisions are made by bureaucrats. If one knew the areas concerned one would realise that the decisions are ridiculous. There are considerable anomalies in this scheme. I have no doubt that school principals will be angry and aggrieved because they will lose students as a result of this revised system. Parents will be frustrated and angry because they will have to pay €350. Students will be annoyed in many cases because they will be unable to attend the schools that their siblings attend. The problem with the scheme is that it is too rigid and there is no flexibility with the decision-making structure. I call on the Minister of State to take local knowledge into account and to allow for some of the decision making processes to take place locally and to involve the local transport authorities in the areas.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Deputy Smith takes an innovative view of how the Topical Issues debate should be utilised in respect of lobbying for the new school.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I am trying to resolve a transport issue in doing so.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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That is a lateral and imaginative view. I respectfully suggest that the Deputy should table a parliamentary question or discuss the issue with the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. It has been noted on the record of the House. There may be individual vagaries relating to counties Tipperary and Cavan. The Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, has specific responsibility for this area. He is not averse to hearing the individual views of the Deputies in respect of the vagaries of the system as they work out in the two constituencies.