Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I might be wrong, but I think the review was started in February 2021. This issue is not about the review of how the transportation system will work for schools. The issue is that there was a change and we had a mass of people come on board looking for the scheme. Because of that, people who were always on the bus have been thrown off the bus. That is my problem. I am aware of hundreds of kids in west Cork who have been eligible to ride the bus for four or five years and are now thrown off it because the criteria have changed. As a result, we need an urgent budget put in place to accommodate the people who have been left behind. We have left thousands behind, hundreds of them in west Cork. The distances involved are quite amazing. I am talking about places like Belgooly and Riverstick all the way to Rossmore. I had a meeting in Rossmore a few weeks ago at which we heard that 28 children were on the bus last year but are off it this year. That is because of the change that was made.

This is therefore not about the review. It is about the next ten days and about what we can do to make sure we have a budget to accommodate the children we left behind.