Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this topic for debate. I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills. Since the beginning of this school year this issue has caused much consternation in Carlow, which is the county I represent. It is as a result of the announcement made by the previous Government as part of the budget for 2011 following the value for money report by the Department on the school transport scheme. I welcome the value for money report and it is important that we get as much value for money as possible from every Department. However, students must now go to their nearest school and not the school of their choice, and this is a cause for much concern.

This decision may make economic sense but from a practical point of view it does not make much sense. A number of issues should be taken into consideration. A school bus may be passing outside the door which would take a pupil to the school of his or her choice but will not pick up him or her and that pupil may have to walk a number of miles to be collected by the bus going to the school he or she is attending. In this day and age this is very dangerous and is very concerning from a health and safety point of view.

I have been made aware that although school principals were made aware of this decision last January or February, the information was not passed on to the parents of pupils beginning school this academic year. The mothers and fathers of these students enrolled their children in the school of their choice and paid for books and uniforms at considerable cost and are now not being allowed to attend the particular school. This issue needs to be addressed. Students decide to go to a school for particular reasons, most likely because the subject choice is suitable from a practical or other point of view. This decision has now been taken out of their hands because of the new arrangements.

If one does not meet the means test requirements with regard to the medical card, one must pay €350 in two instalments of €175 every six months. This needs to be addressed. It would be quite helpful if a concession were made to allow monthly payments, especially once the academic year begins with all the expense involved.

I welcome the five year school building programme announced by the Minister earlier this year. Has consideration being given to the fact that schools will lose a number of pupils from particular areas who would have enrolled otherwise? The national school in Rathvilly in north Carlow has always been a feeder school for Tullow community school which has been granted a considerable extension to commence in 2014, and I welcome this wholeheartedly. The new arrangements mean, however, that Tullow community school may lose 20 new students every year because these 20 students will now have to cross the county border to Baltinglass in Wicklow which may not be able to cater for the extra numbers.

We in rural Ireland are quite parochial about where we go and are quite proud of our county colours. Carlow is a small county and we like to stay within our county boundaries whether from a school, GAA or soccer point of view. We must go to Wicklow in the case I mentioned. In the southern part of Carlow, the same issue arises. The school in Myshall would traditionally have been a feeder school for Bagnelstown but pupils must now go across the border to Bunclody in Wexford which is a big concern and even though there is less than 0.5 km of a distance between the two schools. The school in Bunclody is now considered the nearest school even though there is only 0.5 km between it and the original school.

Could some kind of concessionary arrangement be put in place at this stage to cater for those students who have started in their new school, the school of their choice? They are not being given the opportunity to go on the bus even though it may pass by their door have full. Could an arrangement be put in place where they could pay so much per month which would be a better arrangement than exists currently? As I asked previously, will the schools be able to cater for the larger numbers in the years to come?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which is of concern to a number of Deputies. School transport is a very significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on the Department's behalf and covers more than 82 million kilometres annually. Currently, 110,000 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. I take it the Deputy is referring to the changes regarding school transport eligibility for children attending post-primary schools, which took effect from the beginning of the this school year.

At the outset, I would like to explain that the main objective of my Department's school transport scheme is to support the safe transport to and from school of children who would have difficulty travelling for reasons of distance to nearest school if transport is not supported. Changes in the post-primary school transport scheme were announced in last year's budget. One of the changes which took effect from the commencement of this school year means that the use of the catchment area system as a means of determining eligibility ceased for all pupils newly entering a post-primary school.

From the commencement of this school year, 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 eligibility criterion will be applied equitably on a national basis. In general, children who were eligible under the former catchment boundary area system will retain their transport eligibility for the duration of their post primary education cycle provided there is no change to their current circumstances. Siblings of these children and other children who are not attending their nearest school may apply for school transport on a concessionary basis only in accordance with the terms of the updated post-primary school transport scheme.

The charge for children who are eligible for school transport under the terms of my Department's post-primary school transport scheme remains at €350 per annum this school year. The charge for children availing of transport on a concessionary basis will also remain at €350 per annum this school year. The overall family maximum for children availing of school transport services remains at €650 per annum. Eligible children with valid medical cards under the GMS scheme are exempt from these charges. There is no provision within the scheme to waive charges for pupils who are not eligible for school transport. As with last year, charges may be paid in two instalments in July and in December. It is important to note that school transport charges represent a contribution towards the cost of providing school transport services and do not reflect the actual cost which is almost €1,000 per annum for a post primary school pupil.

In regard to the planning of school infrastructure, the general approach of the Department 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 scheme. While it is the prerogative of parents to send their children to the school of their choice, eligibility for school transport is to the nearest school, having regard for ethos and language.

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am well aware of and understand the cost of school transport which is considerable and needs to be addressed. To go back to the original points I made, the practicalities of the situation also need to be addressed where a half empty school bus passes by a person's house but that person is not picked and may have to walk a considerable distance to reach to a pick up point for the school to which he or she must go. There are considerable health and safety issues involved when school children of 12 to 15 years of age must walk along country roads in the dark and on wet mornings and evenings. This is a concern for people in rural Ireland, in particular.

A student may now not be able to go to the school of his or her choice. Subject choices may not be available in his or her nearest school and it could impact on what he or she wishes to do in the future. The issue of siblings is not addressed. The second child in a family may want to go to the same school as the first child but he or she may not be able to go down that particular road. He or she will not be able to use the same books, which will involve extra costs, and uniforms might also have to be purchased.

While I understand the rationale and the economics behind this, perhaps we should deal with the practicalities of it. In regard to the concessionary situation, I understand hundreds of students are affected. We are now three or four weeks into the school year and something should be done to address their concerns.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again for bringing some additional information to the table in regard to this matter. I had a meeting this morning with the Deputy's party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and two senior civil servants dealing with this issue. We have agreed to wait until after the mid-term break, which is in a couple of weeks time, to review and get as much information in regard to the situation and to see what changes, if any, can be introduced.

If I heard the Deputy correctly, I was interested in what he said that even though the decision to change the system was communicated to principals last January, the parents of children applying to enrol in the school last spring were not informed of those changes. If they had been informed, they might very well have made different arrangements or different choices. The Deputy also said there is capacity and that the bus passes the houses in these places. We will put that on the agenda for discussion and we will probably come back to the Deputy and the House generally after the mid-term break.