Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this. She has been discussing it from dawn to dusk, given that early this morning she was addressing this issue before the education committee. This is something that comes up as an issue at the end of every August. Some of the criticism of the Minister was rather unfair. It was interesting that at the education committee some members were saying the fact changes were made to the plan means this was not properly planned or thought out and the Minister was not taking responsibility. I had to look back on debates in 2012 and 2013, when there were changes to the school transport scheme and the same accusations were being made against the then Labour Party Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn. Any Minister who tries to grapple with this seems to face particular challenges.

What has to be acknowledged is that, first, the Minister has initiated a review of a scheme that has been in place and largely unchanged, bar some changes about a decade ago, since the 1960s. Senator Boylan is right and I support the idea that we can we provide 10,000 extra places next year, but it has to be acknowledged the Minister has provided nearly 20,000 additional places this year. Yes, there are problems with the scheme, but it needs to be acknowledged there has been a significant increase in the number of places being provided.

As colleagues have pointed out, it does not matter if we provided places for nearly every child. If it is your son or daughter or you are the student who does not have a place on the bus, then you are naturally going to feel under pressure. We all know, as the Minister does, the pressures individual families are facing this year and the difficulties they have, particularly where there was a legitimate expectation of a ticket. These are the difficult stories where kids who, up to transition year or fifth year, had the concessionary ticket all of the time and the parents worked on the basis they would apply early and get it, and then they suddenly find they have lost out. We will see the details when the review comes in but I certainly think that where somebody has had a concessionary ticket for a number of years, a legitimate expectation has built up and, at the very least, they have to be given priority. It is hugely disruptive when that legitimate expectation has been built up.

I agree with colleagues about the position of drivers aged over 70. We had the discussion with regard to pensions. That is life and many people want to work for longer. As Senator Carrigy said, this is not about driving an Expressway bus from Tralee to Dublin. This is about small bus routes, which would suit many retired or semi-retired bus drivers. I entirely understand that, for safety reasons, appropriate checks have to be carried out every year. Surely, however, if a driver is able to pass all of the necessary tests to be able to drive the bus, then he or she could be allowed to do it, particularly as, in many of these cases, it is on a part-time basis and on a small route basis.

There is a shortage of bus drivers in the country. We also need to look at making bus driving an attractive career path and we need to encourage people to look at taking it up. It is a difficult job but it is a rewarding career path. Until we have automated vehicles, we are going to be relying on good bus drivers. Part of our campaign has to be around encouraging people into that area.

We all know the good environmental reasons and the reasons around ensuring people can go to work without having to worry about their kids getting to school.We want to see a situation whereby effectively, anybody who wants to use the school bus can do so. This is important, even in terms of preventing traffic idling outside schools and the resultant fumes. I am sure every one of us in this House has also dealt with complaints about traffic jams around schools or inappropriate parking outside school premises so if we can provide a regular bus service, we can address all of that.

When the review is published, and I hope the Minister will expedite the publication of the report, the Minister should come into this House to debate the findings so that we can move to a situation in 2023 where we do not face the same challenges that we face every August. We all know of particular hardship cases and in the short term, I ask the Minister to continue to work closely with Bus Éireann to find ways of getting pupils onto buses.

The final point I would make is one that I raised this morning with the Minister. Part of the challenge has been the introduction, for good reason, of a free school transport scheme. There are people who signed up for the free scheme simply because it was free. Perhaps a small, token fee should have been considered because it has meant that buses are travelling to schools with empty seats. I understand that if all those places have been allocated then the seats cannot be taken up. We need to consider charging a small, token fee to ensure there is intent to use an allocated place. Obviously there are ways to support those who are disadvantaged but we have a problem with people signing up for a service that they intend to use rarely, if ever.