Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, I wish to thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter today. Before I address the specific issue raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 161,600 children, including in excess of 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs and 6,800 pupils who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine, are transported on daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382 million.

Under the current terms of the scheme, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they attend their nearest national school and reside not less than 3.2 km from it. At post-primary level, they are eligible if they are attending their nearest post-primary school or education centre and reside not less than 4.8 km from it, as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Children who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.

The school transport scheme is of huge importance to families and there has been a significant amount of change in this country since the scheme was initially established. The School Transport 2030 report has now been published. It marks the largest review of the school transport scheme since it was established in 1967. The Government is committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme in order that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030. Throughout the review, the value of the school transport scheme to families and in supporting wider Government policies has been apparent. School transport not only plays an important part in supporting children's access to education; it also aligns to wider Government objectives. Overall, the recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme concern the expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges, charges and grants and, over time, moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money to the Exchequer.A phased implementation of the review's recommendations will begin in September 2024. This will include a shared effort between the Department of Education and the Department of Transport to pilot and introduce greater integration of transport networks with school transport routes. I envisage that over time this will lead to expanding the provision of transport and reducing the reliance on individual car trips for school journeys.

The planned pilot projects in the 2024-25 school year will provide a valuable insight into the impact on the scheme of increased demand, the possibilities to integrate public transport services with school transport services and the possibilities to facilitate more sustainable modes of transport. These impacts will be fully assessed and costed as required. The projects will evaluate and assess the scale of planning and implementation required for a national roll-out of a revised school transport scheme. As part of this, they will include the integration of public transport and school transport services. The school transport scheme and public transport integration project is a joint effort between the Department of Education and the Department of Transport, supported by the National Transport Authority and Bus Éireann. Details of the areas to be included in the pilot scheme will be available shortly. Families residing in the pilot scheme areas will be communicated with separately regarding the pilot schemes, how they should apply and to inform them what the changes will mean for the 2024-25 school year.