Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for being with us tonight to address the very important issue of school transport. I want to talk specifically about the area of Kilnaleck in the heart of County Cavan. This is a beautiful, idyllic village in the heart of the county. There are 25 students currently having to use private transport to get to school in Cavan town.

There are three big secondary schools in Cavan town and 25 students currently have to pay for a private bus service.

This is not a new issue. It is an issue that has been ongoing for years. One of the parents told me that 50 years ago there was a route from Kilnaleck into Cavan town but, for some reason along the way, that was changed. I am hoping that as a result of this debate we will have the opportunity to change and rectify that and make school transport a possibility and a real part of the lives of the parents who have this relentless problem around school transport.

As I said, there are parents whose children have to use private school transport. Of course, I acknowledge the fact it is the second closet school and it is not the nearest. I am asking that under the review around school transport the scope of that would be broadened to facilitate parents and students like those in Kilnaleck and to ensure the second closest school will be an option for them.

I have already explored all options. We have looked at Local Link and so on but none of that is a runner. I have tried to be flexible. Ultimately, there are 25 students and countless families who deserve school transport to Cavan town.

One of the parents has given me a very clear example of where it is costing more than €1,400 per annum to get her child to school. On top of that, she drives 4,000 km each year to get her child to the pick-up point outside Kilnaleck. That is before the child even gets on the bus to go to school.

The Minister of State will have got the gist of my ask. I will allow time for my colleague.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for stepping in to take the matter tonight. I do not know what bus na scoile is like in Waterford but in north Kildare it is absolutely dire. In all the years I was a councillor, and since I have become a Deputy, I have never seen anything like the avalanche of messages, requests and emails I am getting from parents in north Kildare, contacting me about bus na scoile. It has been an absolute fiasco. The Department announced free seats without making sure it had the actual seats in the first place. It has led to chaos among families across north Kildare and across the State as well.

I know from a reply to a parliamentary question that the Department did this after a couple of days liaising with Bus Éireann. Bus Éireann only realised the seats were going to be free half an hour before it was formally announced. There is the phrase, "Build it and they will come". If you announce free school bus places, do not be surprised that many hands go up. This has left many children without any tickets this year who had gotten concessionary tickets for many years. They are bitterly disappointed.

I am also bitterly disappointed with the replies I am receiving to parliamentary questions. The Minister said at least 124,000 tickets were given out, with an extra 20,000 places this year. The Government keeps insisting on this figure but it is just not true. In another reply to a parliamentary question, I was told 121,400 were carried in the scheme for the 2021-2022 school year. That is only an extra 3,000 places and not the 20,000 the Minister said there were. I ask the Minister of State not say that in her reply because that is back to school stuff whether one has a school bus place or not.

I wish to raise the issue of the number of mothers who are contacting me because, primarily, this is a gender issue. This goes back to women. It is seen as the woman’s job to get the kids to school. In addition, because of the gender pay gap, it is primarily the women. Women are telling me they will have to give up work to bring their kids to school.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising these matters. As discussed with the Deputies, I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, who is unfortunately unavailable this evening due to another commitment.

Deputy Cronin asked about the transport issues in Waterford. I am a mother of three and for the past 17 years, including this year, I have put somebody on the school bus. Living in Portlaw, where there is no secondary school, we have no choice. Only for the school bus system, with five buses leaving Portlaw every morning, thankfully, my youngest is on the bus.

I will provide an outline on the extent of the school transport first. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year, more than 121,400 children, including more than 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of more than €289 million in 2021.

The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the 2022-2023 school year as part of a wider package of cost-of-living measures. I know, particularly in the area where I am from, not having to pay that €650, or €220 in the case of primary school, was welcomed by school families.

School transport ticket registration for the 2022-2023 school year closed on 29 July, by which time almost 130,000 applications were received for mainstream school. The figure included 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year. Already, 124,000 tickets for the mainstream scheme alone have been issued to applicants for the 2022-2023 school year. At the start of the last school year, there were 103,000 children carried on mainstream school transport services, so already in the region of 20,000 additional places have been created. There has been an increase in tickets allocated across all counties, including the areas referred to by both Deputies.

Bus Éireann will continue to process applications and to issue tickets as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service. However, regrettably, the unprecedented numbers of applications for the upcoming school year has led to some delays in issuing tickets.

I will respond to Deputy Smyth first. I take on board what she said. I believe she was referring to Kilnaleck.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Some 25 students are using private transport and the Deputy has exhausted all avenues and spoken to Local Link. I will certainly bring that back to the Minister on her behalf. What I have found in my constituency office is that if there are two or three children in a particular area, it is very difficult. However, when there are 25 students, it is easier to deal with that. It is very hard to provide the bus for one or two children, which is not what parents want to hear. However, in this case, there are numerous students. Deputy Cronin is very challenged in north Kildare as well.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets continue to be allocated in line with the criteria that the Deputies know in relation to those who are eligible and those who are concessionary. In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

In addition, pending completion of the outcome of the full review of the school transport system, temporary alleviation measures at post-primary level, which is the second school the Deputy referred to, will be continued for the 2022-2023 school year.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, I am speaking about a specific issue, which is Kilnaleck. I would like to take this opportunity to thank one parent who has had numerous meetings, sent numerous emails, made numerous phone calls and put hours and hours into this on behalf of the other parents and kids to try to come to a resolution. Using her words, to say this is a stressful situation is an understatement.

On the broader picture, the system has to be flexible, particularly in the current circumstances we find ourselves in. To say, as I read in the reply, that a late applicant will not be accepted is not flexible. I will use the example of a family with a number of children who have been paying Bus Éireann over the past 15 years. Their child cannot get on the bus this year even though that bus is driving by the end of their lane only half full. This is the problem. We cannot have half-full buses going to schools with other kids, who have been loyal Bus Éireann customers, left at the side of the road. I ask that the system be flexible to ensure the capacity is provided for all these concessionary students.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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That is a problem I am hearing about as well. Buses are not full and yet kids have been refused places on them. I know of 29 children from the Rathcoffey-Straffan area. There is no public transport from Straffan into Maynooth secondary school. There is a public bus service from Rathcoffey, but there is not one from Straffan and there are 29 children without a seat. This is all in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis where women are thinking about having to give up work so they can bring their kids to school. I know of another child from Coill Dubh going to Prosperous and who is relying on the 120 bus, which is just not reliable.

The word "reliable" should not be in the same sentence as the 120 bus. Mothers are having to quit work with no warning in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. It is all just a lack of joined-up thinking. The headlines were great - there was to be a free bus na scoile service and it would marvellous and important in the middle of a climate crisis, but it is not delivering. One cannot just announce something and make it happen. Bus Éireann did not get the notice it needed. I want to know what the story is. I have heard Ministers saying they are still looking into it and they are still trying to get places, whereas Bus Éireann says it is over and finished. What is the story there?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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It is important to point out that 124,000 tickets for the mainstream scheme alone have been issued to applicants and 124,000 children are on the bus. As part of the cost-of-living packages introduced by the Government, they are able to travel to school by bus free of charge. Notwithstanding that there are difficulties, that point cannot be lost. All present accept this is very important for many families who might not ordinarily get supports, possibly because they are working, for example. It is important to acknowledge that.

The Department has commenced a review of the school transport scheme. It is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme. All Deputies are aware there are issues every September. The Government accepts that.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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There has been nothing like this year previously, though.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The review will consider how the scheme currently operates, its broader effectiveness and sustainability and that it adequately supports the provision of services to students and their families.

The review encompasses the school transport scheme for children with special educational needs. The review of the primary and post-primary school transport schemes will examine each element of the schemes, including eligibility criteria, trends, costs, cost drivers and overall effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the scheme. The review will also examine the potential for integration of different strands of the scheme and a more co-ordinated approach with other Departments that also use transport services.

Wider considerations relating to operation of the scheme are taking place in the current phase of the review. As part of this, the technical working group has undertaken extensive consultation, including running a public survey for parents and guardians as well as students who use the service. It is to be hoped that, as a result of the review, the situation will be resolved by the end of next year.

I reiterate the point that 124,000 students are receiving school transport at the moment. I will feed the Deputies' comments on the immediate areas to which they referred back to the Minister.