Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for the invitation to make a statement to update them on the school transport provision for the current school year. School transport was established in 1968. It was created to facilitate access to primary and post-primary education for those children who, because of where they reside, might otherwise have difficulty attending school regularly. Of course there have been considerable changes in Irish society since the scheme was first established but the scheme continues to provide a significant level of service for children and young people right across the State. In the 2021-22 school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary, post-primary and special schools. In 2021, the total cost of providing school transport amounted to €289 million. This includes direct transport services and grant payments. It also includes funding to schools for the employment of escorts to accompany children with special educational needs whose care and safety needs require this support.

In July 2022, the Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for eligible applicants for the 2022-23 school year as part of a wider package of cost-of-living measures. Eligibility criteria remained the same as in previous years. School transport ticket registration for the 2022-23 school year closed on 29 July, by which time almost 130,000 applicants or registrations were received for mainstream school transports. This figures includes 44,299 new applicants as well as roll-overs from the previous school year. Any application completed after this date is a late application and therefore many school transport services are already operating at full capacity. Late applications will only be assessed after all on-time applications have been processed and there can be no guarantee of places for late applicants. Already 126,000 tickets for the mainstream scheme alone have been issued to applicants for the 2022-23 school year. A further 17,600 have been issued in respect of the special education scheme. At the start of the last school year, there were approximately 103,600 children carried on mainstream school transport services so already in the region of 22,400 additional places have been created. This is a 22% increase overall in the number of mainstream seats on the service.

The temporary waiving of fees has led to an unprecedented expansion of the scheme, with many more eligible and concessionary applicants receiving tickets than ever before. There has been an increase in tickets allocated across all counties with an increase of over 18% in the number of tickets issued to eligible pupils compared with the start of the 2021-22 school year and an increase of over 27% in the number of tickets issued to concessionary pupils in comparison with the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Notwithstanding this, I acknowledge that the huge increase in applications has led to frustration over delays in issuing tickets and establishing services in some instances. Given this unprecedented demand for school transport for the current school year, there has been an increased volume of calls to both the dedicated Bus Éireann customer care centre and the school transport section of the Department. The Department agreed to additional resources to facilitate additional staff in the customer care centre with a view to alleviating the waiting and call answer times. There is also a facility in place whereby public representatives can email queries on behalf of their constituents directly to Bus Éireann.

It is very important to note that the waiving of transport fees remains contingent on applicants meeting the normal eligibility criteria of the scheme. Tickets continue to be allocated in line with these criteria. Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 km from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post-primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest post-primary school or education centre are deemed eligible. Any pupil or student who does not meet these criteria is deemed not eligible, otherwise known as a concessionary applicant. Such pupils are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children or young people have been catered for.

For this year, and in line with normal practice, all eligible children and young people who completed the application and ticket registration process on time for the 2022-23 school year have now been accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. In addition, pending completion of the outcome of the full review of the school transport scheme, temporary alleviation measures at post-primary level will be continued for the 2022-23 school year. Under these measures, transport will be provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school, and who applied by 29 April and registered by 29 July.

Both the Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the challenges faced by parents awaiting transport for students with special educational needs.Families of children who are eligible for these services but experience a delay with accessing them may, therefore, apply for the special transport grant. This is a once-off grant paid retrospectively to families to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements that the families have put in place until services are finalised. Where a new service is sanctioned this means a procurement or vetting process is required. In many instances, the school is also sanctioned to employ a transport escort and this necessarily takes time to put in place. By accepting applications year round the Department can ensure that children with special educational needs receive the transport they require. To ensure the efficient delivery of services to children and special educational needs school transport, Bus Éireann assesses each application to assess the options available. Where children can be facilitated on an existing service applications are processed immediately and arrangements are put in place with the families involved.

As part of the budgetary process some additional funding has been approved for the scheme, which will allow officials in the Department of Education, in consultation with Bus Éireann, to consider and evaluate where temporary additional capacity may be available. Bus Éireann is initially focusing on where families applied on time and previously held concessionary tickets. However, it is important to stress that this is subject to capacity considerations. Constraints on sourcing of vehicles and drivers in certain areas of the county may also mean that it may take a number of weeks to explore solutions for additional capacity.

The Department is continuing to conduct a review of the school transport scheme, which includes an examination of the current scheme and how it is operating, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and that it adequately supports the provision of services to students and their families. The steering group will continue to report to me on an interim basis as the review progresses.

Once again, I thank the Senators for the invitation to appear here today.