Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This is a very serious matter because since I have become a Senator, we have had a great opportunity with a thing we called Commencement matters, but the way that Commencement matters went this morning, I wonder if there is any point in them. I asked a very clear question of the Minister for Education around school transport and to ask what will the school transport section of the Department of Education do to rectify the situation with school transport issues and, in particular, the route from Inagh to Ennis. The answer I received was appalling. It was completely pointless, a waste of time and told me everything we already know about the increase in numbers. It is not just the Inagh route, which has been running for 50 years, but many schools have been affected by this. Perhaps this is because it is a rural issue and that the people working in the school transport section of the Department are in cities, where they have great transport options, but 57 children were left at the side of the road last Tuesday and, nine days later, nothing has happened.

I asked a very clear question as to what the Department was going to do. The Commencement matter was accepted by the Cathaoirleach, a Minister of State who did not have anything to do with the Minister for Education came into the Chamber, which I suppose is the way these things are, but the reply was condescending, patronising and absolutely useless. Not only was it disappointing to me, I felt deeply disappointed by it and I question the whole idea of Commencement matters, but this was also the case for the parents and the students. How disappointed they must feel with this completely useless response.

It is great that we have free school transport but it seems that the Department has done nothing about increasing the quantity of qualified bus drivers or the number of school buses that are available. Now we have a case where there are thousands of students and their parents all over Ireland in absolute chaos about how to get to school. Many of these children live 16 km to 17 km from school. Their parents are at work and cannot drive them there or afford to drive them because of the cost of petrol. This is a very serious issue which affects thousands of pupils.

I understand how this was such a great idea, because there was significant demand, but did the Department not know there was going to be a big demand? This was a very clear question and I ask the Cathaoirleach to perhaps go back to all of the Ministers to explain to them the concept of Commencement matters where, if Members are asking a question, they want an answer to that question and not a three-page spiel about something that is not answering the question at all. Otherwise, as Senators, we are wasting our time coming in here for Commencement matters.