Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. It is great to have her here. I wish to refer to two issues. One is school transport, which has been raised by many Members. The upper age limit of 70 years for drivers must be examined because there is a major shortage of drivers. They are still doing private work and their not working on school work is a big issue. The Department also needs to do some work with regard to Bus Éireann, which is the principal operator of school transport services. Bus Éireann works with private operators as well and there is a conflict at times because sometimes private operators work against Bus Éireann on other routes.A body of work needs to be done. There are four buses in a private yard in Skibbereen at the moment with 2019 and 2020 registration plates. For some reason, we cannot get them on the road to provide after-school transportation. Conflicts such as that need to be looked at. It is a considerable issue because school transportation services are only running at 50% capacity at the moment. I appeal to the Minister to work with Bus Éireann to see whether we can move away from those blockages.

Autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units and the manner in which they have been rolled out in primary schools throughout the country have been an amazing success. The integration of those units has been powerful and has worked well with communities. That said, we need to engage more with secondary level institutions and colleges to ensure we follow through. We have a great primary network at the moment but I am not sure the secondary network is as strong. I know of a school that has been looking for an ASD unit for the past four years but has been refused. It is an unusual scenario that a secondary school is being refused because the policy in the Department does not support the school to have an ASD unit. It is a fee-paying school and that is why it has been refused. It does not fulfil the required criteria and there is no policy within the Department that it can satisfy. The school has offered to waive the fee for all children who would attend that unit if it were to be set up. Bandon Grammar School is the school in question. It has done the right thing by putting its hand up and asking for a unit. The school authorities believe it is appropriate because there is a need for such a unit within the community. It is a Church of Ireland school and covers a cohort in west Cork. I ask the Minister to look into that because they are working on a matter of principle about inclusivity when seeking the classrooms they require.