Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the school transport review. [6205/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister answered this question to a degree in one of her earlier replies. Will she please provide an update on the school transport review?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In the current school year, more than 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who arrived in Ireland from Ukraine, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. As such, the school transport scheme represents a highly significant logistical operation and is a significant pillar of Ireland’s public transport system.

The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02 million. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023-24 school year in comparison with the 2022-23 school year. Under the current terms of the scheme, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from, and are attending, their nearest school and, at post-primary level, where they reside not less than 4.8 km from, and are attending, their nearest post-primary school or education centre, as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Any children who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or are otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.

The school transport scheme has been operating for more than 55 years since its establishment in 1967. This review is one of the most extensive investigations that has been carried out into the scheme since then. Undoubtedly, the school transport scheme is of huge importance to families, and there has been a significant amount of change in this country since the scheme was initially established. A review of the school transport scheme has recently been completed by a steering group with high-level membership from relevant Departments and other bodies, reflecting the importance of the scheme for access to education and other wider Government objectives. The review has been conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure it serves students and their families efficiently and effectively. Considering how to best maximise the benefits now and into the future has been a significant factor in the ongoing review of the scheme, which commenced in February 2021.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is correct that the review has been extensive. That is one way to describe it. It has been going on since February 2021. The Minister said earlier that she would have the review published by the end of March. Does she envisage the report, and the review in its entirety, being published at that time?

The school transport system is quite unique in that parents, students and Deputies want it, but each of those moving parts also needs this to happen for a variety of reasons. If this review is to be published by the end of March, will she outline what impact she sees it having on 2024-25 school year applications?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that interim measures were taken by the Department following the first phase of the review, namely, the temporary alleviation measures, TAMS, introduced at post-primary level, which are being continued for the current school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport is provided where there is a route in operation and where capacity exists for concessionary post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school, are attending their second-nearest school, and who applied and paid on time.

The Deputy referenced the extensive engagement that took place. This was quite significant because it was the first time in the 55 years of the school transport system that such a review took place. It is my aim and expectation that we will publish it in the first quarter of this year. The steps for that are for the review to go to a Cabinet sub-committee and then to Cabinet. Following that, it will be published. Prior to the review going to Cabinet, I am not in a position to give the detail on it. However, it will be published in the first quarter of this year.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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As I said, we all want this to work and to work effectively. I again ask the Minister what impact she sees this review, to be published by the end of the first quarter of this year, having on applications for school students for the 2024-25 school year.

The significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the road will not be lost on anybody who has been in a car during the mid-term break this week. We can make that a permanent feature if we have a fully functional and fully resourced school transport system. There is another aspect to this outside of traffic. Road safety concerns are involved with the high volume of cars that are on the roads around schools. There are also congestion and traffic issues and the general sense of schools being very busy and unwelcoming places sometimes, especially when we know that the demand from parents is there in rural Ireland. We know the difficulties the eligible and concessionary student classifications have caused. Again, what impact does the Minister see this review having on the 2024-25 school year?

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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My initial point is that there has been extensive engagement on this, but the Minister is the only Minister who has delivered on the review, which has been promised on numerous occasions by successive Governments. It is great to see it being finally brought to Cabinet. I commend the Minister on that. She said it would be brought through the various stages by the end of quarter 1. Will she clarify whether the changes proposed will take effect when the portal opens, which typically happens in April? Will whatever recommendations that are made take effect with the opening of that portal? I reiterate my call, which I have made dozens of times at this stage, for some flexibility to be built into the system, especially in the areas of Carrignavar, Glenville, Watergrasshill and those villages that face a geographical challenge in terms of proximity to schools.

10 o’clock

Could some flexibility be built into Bus Éireann to allow it to make some discretionary cases where there is a demand for the service?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset I would like to say that I appreciate the importance of the school transport scheme. I know of its value in many rural areas in particular. It was for that reason we ensured we got the widest spectrum of opinion in terms of how we should operate. That was not just families currently using the system, but families who have not used the system and would like to use it. There were those who engaged with the system from a special education point of view. An analysis of school transport schemes in other jurisdictions was also conducted. This included looking at systems in the EU, the UK, the United States and Australia. The final report and its recommendations on the future operation and strategic development of the scheme will be brought before a Cabinet subcommittee. It will then be brought before Cabinet, and it will only be at that point we will be in a position to say what actions will be determined by Government. However, nobody for one minute underestimates the value and importance of the school transport scheme.