Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

The matter I raise appears simple but is complex. Will the Department of Education and Science clarify who is responsible for school children outside school teaching hours? A case in Carlow was recently brought to my attention. A school in a rural parish there traditionally had two buses providing transport for children. For some reason it was then provided with only one bus, so that one group of children now arrives at school very early in the morning. The bus then travels on a second run to collect the remaining children. In the evening the bus brings one group of children home at 3 p.m. and then returns perhaps half an hour later to collect the remaining children who have been left unsupervised.

This is a complex area. Are the teachers responsible for looking after the children in those periods before school starts or after it finishes, when some are waiting for school buses? Should the children be on the school premises? I know that in most schools there is no difficulty because the numbers of children involved are small. Generally speaking there would still be cleaning staff in the schools and teachers still working on the premises after school hours. Local arrangements are made.

One of my Dáil colleagues recently tabled a parliamentary question on this matter but the response was very vague. It was stated that the age of any children involved would be a factor. The Department should clarify the matter of responsibility in the area. If school authorities do not allow children to wait on school grounds, and an accident occurs involving children on the side of a road, the school could be liable. I hope the Minister of State can provide a detailed reply. The area is very vague and needs to be tightened up for all concerned — parents, children, teaching staff, boards of management and the Department itself.