Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I will begin by offering Members an outline of the extent of the school transport service. School transport is a very significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on my Department's behalf and covering more than 82 million km annually. In the region of 115,000 children, including more than 8,000 with special needs, are transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. Catchment areas are no longer a feature of the primary school transport scheme. At primary level, children are eligible for transport to a particular school where they reside not less than 3.2 km from it and where it is determined to be their nearest national school, having regard to ethos and language. Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and scheduling of school transport routes and services. The company endeavours, within available resources, to ensure each eligible child has a reasonable level of school transport service in the context of the scheme nationally.

In regard to the case raised by the Senator, Bus Éireann has advised that two services are operating to Ardvarney national school for the 2012-13 school year. These services accommodate a total of 13 children who are eligible for school transport, the remaining seats being allocated to children who are not eligible but are availing of the service on a concessionary basis. The closing date for receipt of school transport applications for the 2013-14 school year was 26 April. The Senator will appreciate that decisions regarding the retention or establishment of transport services for the next school year will be made by Bus Éireann only after all applications have been received and assessed. The retention or establishment of services is determined, in the first instance, by the number and location of children who meet the eligibility criteria. The terms of the schemes are applied equitably on a national basis.