Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge his passion for and commitment to his role in respect of school transport. He stated the system had been brought about in 1968 and further changed in 2012. There are 116,000 children availing of school transport daily, including 12,000 with special needs. I understand there is a recommendation that everybody on a school bus, including the special needs assistants and driver, should receive some training in dealing with children's needs. Each child has his or her own difficulties. It is important, therefore, that everybody associated with school the transport scheme receive full training. I would like to ensure this.

Where there is no transport service available in rural areas, there are grants available for putting in place private transport arrangements. I acknowledge the role of the NCSE which advises on school transport needs. Ultimately, we want all children to get to and from their destination in a very safe manner. That is most important.

That there were 410 new services put in place in 2016 is significant. The Government has committed to not cutting any route, certainly this year, which is most commendable.

Yesterday I attended the meeting of the education committee which was referred to by Senator Robbie Gallagher. Somebody in Tipperary was on to me about 12 children who attended a certain school but who had to be driven 2.5 km by the parents to connect with the bus service. As Senator Victor Boyhan said, common sense has to prevail in tweaking some of these routes. The Minister of State has said he is available in that regard and I will certainly be back to him about it. There are 12 children affected attending the school in question. Each morning the parents have to operate according to a rota to drive the children to the bus collection point. I have come across a number of such examples.

Gaelscoil an Ráithín in Limerick is to relocate from Garryowen Rugby Club to Mungret. The distance is over 4 km, but it is not at the 4.8 km threshold. The new school is being built and pupils will be moving to it in September. Bus Éireann currently runs no bus service on the route. There is actually no public transport service on the route to the new school. The school and the parents were on to Bus Éireann, which has not committed to putting any service in place. People were able to walk the children to the school at its current location, or they were able to get the bus from relevant areas, but there is no bus route to the new school. This certainly needs to be considered and I am sure the Minister of State is willing to take it on board. Other examples were raised at the meeting of the education committee and come back to common sense. I acknowledge the Minister of State's commitment in that regard.

Many routes are operated by private companies under contract. There are children who live on one side of Limerick and attend school on the other because their needs are such that they require smaller classes. The private bus operator has been contracted to pick up passengers in the centre of the city to take them to the school, but the bus driver actually passes the 12 children who congregate every morning for their parents to pick them up at a central point. Since they are not on the contracted route, the parents must transport them.I commend the Minister of State for all he is doing, but it is welcome news that there will be no cutbacks under the school transport scheme.