Seanad debates
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
School Transport: Statements
2:00 am
Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
I thank the Senators for their contributions on the school transport system. In the first instance, the school transport system as it stands carries over 178,000 children, with 8,200 vehicles travelling over 10,000 routes. I pay tribute to the bus drivers the length and breadth of the country who are up early in the morning to make sure children get to school. What they do is important. I was lucky enough to be able to travel by bus to both primary and post-primary school and still remember the kindness of the drivers. Many people will remember them as well. It was remiss of me not to pay tribute to the drivers at the outset. I also pay tribute to the officials in the school transport section in the Department and the Bus Éireann officials, whom we have met weekly since very early in the summer to make sure we would have the minimum number of challenges this year. We met each week to ensure we had covered as much as possible.
We added from last year to this year a number of pilot schemes around the country, in some cases very successfully. Some we still have challenges with in terms of procuring drivers and buses. However, we have put in more buses.
The review done on the period to 2030 is one of the most important documents we are trying to work on to include more people in the school bus system. We have had statements on school transport here in the Seanad this week, we had three and a half hours of statements in the Dáil last week, and Bus Éireann representatives are to be before the committee tomorrow. We were before the committee in relation to school transport the day the Dáil reconvened. That shows the enormous interest public representatives have in the school transport system. Whether one is a councillor, Senator, TD or Minister, one will be aware of the number of people who are in contact daily by various means, including by email and WhatsApp. We have tried our level best to respond to people with solutions. We are here to try. We are not able to turn water into wine in every instance but we certainly try to find solutions.The value placed by students and their parents on the school transport system, on that school bus place or school bus ticket, which enables the family to open other possibilities, whether it is single parent families, whether it is where both parents are working, or whether it is people who do not have access to transport, is such that it is hugely important and hugely valued and we must continue with this.
In the report that was done, we are looking at how we integrate the school transport system into other forms of transport. I am reminded of one of the first press releases I made as a public representative many years ago, which was how school buses, after doing the daily school run, should be used for transport in rural communities, in particular connecting them to larger towns, which I suppose was a precursor of the Local Link service. I remember the reaction to that at the time. There is a huge network of Local Link services but the Department and Bus Éireann have been looking at how to integrate more into the public transport system. That would be one solution because we will have to increase the number of students who are getting on school transport if we are to meet climate targets but also make it more convenient for people to get to and from school. The point was also made by Senators in very colourful and interesting language about the importance of school transport in terms of the social connections that people can make on the school buses and engaging with others earlier in their lives.
We do not have every solution to everything. We take on board the recommendations of Members in terms of looking at it and looking at it again. I am delighted to be working in this section. I know the section very well because I would have experienced it coming from a very rural area and I understand the importance of it. We have challenges but we are working night and day to make sure we meet those challenges head on.
On the timing, I always say that the school bus transport issue is from the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August until well into the school year. I would say 1 October but it is far from that date. We have a lot of issues we need to deal with. The Department and Bus Éireann have been planning the routes and looking at what we can do from November on. Regarding the remarks about the end of April and the deadline of early June to pay or use a medical card number, we can look at how we might bring that back earlier so that we would have the information as soon as possible and be able to make right decisions earlier in the year.
On the other issue raised about how, if you get a ticket in junior infants, you have it for the eight years of primary school, and likewise from first year, that is another issue. We have fewer - a fraction in some instances - not retaining concessionary tickets. The number of people who would have had concessionary tickets in the previous school year and are without them this year is only a fraction of what it was in previous years, so we have brought that figure down. We have a huge amount of work ongoing. I do not think anybody within the sector would say we do not have challenges, but because of the value that is put on the school bus ticket and people wanting it, we will work to ensure we expand the scheme but also make the scheme more accessible and perhaps integrate into the other forms of public transport that the State is paying for to see if we can get better value for money.
I thank the Senators for the opportunity to address the House on this matter and I look forward to working with them on individual queries or issues. I have no problem in doing that, or even come into the House again to answer further questions. Go raibh maith agaibh.
No comments