Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Trying to shut the door after the horse has bolted is difficult, but I agree that cramming this in at the last minute without scrutiny is not the right way to do business and it certainly is not new politics. Of course, our Bill was a Sinn Féin Bill and we could not have that - new politics would not provide for it.

Today I will speak to the review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the school transport scheme that was published yesterday. On reading the report, it is clear that the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skill, Deputy John Halligan, has not listened to those who raised concerns in respect of the operation of the scheme. Almost 7,000 children throughout the State have applied for school transport but were refused a seat despite claims from the Minister of State that no child would be without one. In County Mayo alone, 497 concessionary primary tickets and 589 post-primary tickets were issued. There were 289 requests for a concessionary ticket that were refused. In fact, a number of people paid for the tickets but still did not get them.

That this review proposes retaining the status quois unacceptable and does not take into account the reality on the ground. The policy changes, which in all fairness were imposed by Fianna Fáil, do not take account of the traditional catchment areas, health and safety concerns and community links. Areas such as Ballycroy and Louisburgh in County Mayo have been deeply affected by these changes. Pupils are forced to go to a different school to that of their siblings and parents are forced to reduce their employment hours or give up their jobs to provide private transport for their children.

That it would cost a mere €7 million to provide every child with a school bus seat adds insult to injury and will be no comfort to the affected families. In our alternative budget, Sinn Féin provided for a €7 million investment in school transport. For the benefit of Senator Buttimer, who appears to have a continuous difficulty in grasping basic economics, this could be paid for twice over by phasing the withdrawal of the private school annual State subsidy over five years-----