Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. Before I address the specific issue raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport service. The school transport scheme is a significant operation, managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the previous school year, 121,400 children, including 15,500 with special educational needs, were transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The cost of the scheme in 2021 was €289 million. The school transport scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

In July 2022, the Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the 2022-23 school year as part of a wider package of cost-of-living measures. School transport ticket registration for the 2022-23 school year closed on 29 July, by which time almost 130,000 applications had been received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications, as well as rollovers from the previous school year. Already, more than 127,800 tickets have been issued for the 2022-23 school year. At the start of the previous school year, there were approximately 103,600 children carried on mainstream school transport services, so already 24,000 additional places have been created.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets are 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 are deemed eligible. Any pupils who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible and are otherwise known as concessionary applicants. They are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for. In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process in time for this school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

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

The specific issues raised by the Senator relate to remote area grants where school transport is not available. Families who wish to avail of school transport and have their eligibility status assessed should apply online before the closing date to Bus Éireann. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department, will then contact all applicants regarding their eligibility for school transport. The families must complete the application process before the closing date. Where there is no transport service available for eligible children, Bus Éireann will forward the applicants' details to the Department and officials from the school transport section will contact families directly regarding the remote area grant. It is important to note that an application for school transport must be made before any grant can be considered for an eligible student. Grants are based on distance from home to school and range between €1.30 per day and the maximum daily allowance payable of €5.10 per family.

As the Senator may be aware, the Department has commenced a review of the school transport scheme. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability and to ensure it serves students and their families adequately. I spoke to an official in the Department this morning. She hopes the review will be concluded by the end of the year and made it clear that the allocations and per day rates are part of the review. They are under consideration at the moment.