Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I have regularly raised questions in this House about the school transport scheme. While it was certainly welcome the Minister, Norma Foley, carried out the first review of the scheme, which was published in February of this year, the first review since the scheme was established in 1967, we still need to see some of the detail. I have raised this previously. We have seen over recent years an expansion in the number of school bus places available. There has been a significant increase in the number of concessionary tickets, but a very clear commitment was given within School Transport 2030 to introduce a number of pilot bus schemes that would address the issue of distance and the problem of distance to schools. The Minister of State will be aware that the rule requires that, to qualify for an automatic ticket, one travel to one's nearest education centre. That does not suit in every case.

I have been raising the case of roughly 190 students from the north Wexford area who travel to schools in Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford. The primary reason they do this is that their nearest education centre is Coláiste an Átha, in Kilmuckridge. It is an excellent small school, but there would be a huge increase in its population if all 190 were to attend there, and there simply is not the space at present. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Department sanctioned one of the pilot schemes to be offered to some of the children in that area, that is, children who might have been travelling into Gorey from areas such as Monamolin, Oulart, the Ballagh, Ballyedmond and so on. That was sanctioned earlier this year, but the bus still has not been put on the route. There is a particular desire as well on the part of the parents and the children who travel from that area to use one of the pilot bus schemes to travel into Wexford town. I certainly hope that, as the scheme is expanded, they can be catered for.

I raised this issue six months ago, and at that time the Minister of State, Niall Collins, responded on behalf of the Minister and made clear that a number of the pilot projects for 2024-25 would be put in place and would be in operation. While we have sanction for one in north Wexford, it is still not in operation. At the time, six months ago, I was informed by the Department that it was looking at the possibility of integrating some of these pilot projects with the public transport network but that, if not, it would engage with private contractors. I know the Department and Bus Éireann have been in contact with private contractors in the area, but the Minister of State will appreciate we are now into the middle of November in the 2024-25 school year. The pilot bus schemes are not yet in operation. It is critical we put on the record of the House where we are with those, especially for those parents who have been told the pilot schemes have been sanctioned. If he can, I ask the Minister of State to give us a very clear date as to when the pilot service will actually commence. We have been raising this around extending to those children who are impacted a pilot operating into Wexford town. Again, I know inquiries were made, and I hope the Minister of State might be able to give some answer on that. Even more generally, under the commitment to establish a number of pilot schemes, how many pilot schemes around the country will be established?

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. I think Thomas Byrne was to take it but he is in the Dáil dealing with a number of matters.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 scheme. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2023-24 school year, over 163,800 children were transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. This figure includes over 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs and 7,400 pupils who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine. The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02 million. Over 142,000 mainstream tickets have issued for the 2024-25 school year, which is already 4% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2023-24 school year.

The school transport scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remotely from their nearest school. Under the current scheme, children are eligible for transport at primary school level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from, and are attending, their nearest national school. At post-primary level, young people are eligible where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from, and are attending, their nearest post-primary school or education centre as determined by the Department and-or Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time, that is those who apply on time and pay on time, are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. Temporary alleviation measures at post-primary level, which have been in place since 2019, are being continued for the 2024-25 school year. Under these measures, transport is provided where there is a route in operation and where capacity exists for concessionary post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school. They must also, of course, apply and pay on time. Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available, Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.

The school transport 2030 report, which was published earlier this year, 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 so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030. The analysis conducted as part of this comprehensive review has illustrated the importance of school transport to families but has also shown how the scheme can support wider Government policies, including supporting climate action targets, supporting working parents and the labour market, supporting families to live and work in rural Ireland and teaching life skills for children.

The recommended changes to the future operation of the schemes include expanding the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money to the Exchequer. 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. A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations began in September 2024. This has included 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.

The 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.

While phase 1 of the implementation of the school transport 2030 report in the current school year has seen the initial establishment of two pilot projects, in the Clare-Limerick and Athlone-Roscommon areas, as committed to at the time of publication of the review, the Department intends to establish further pilots in a number of areas, including north County Wexford, subject to available resources, such as buses and drivers. The sourcing of drivers and buses is ongoing and updates will be provided as resources become available.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State and appreciate that he is simply taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Department of Education, but I refer him to the answer I received regarding this issue six months ago. Except for two or three lines, this response is a cut-and-paste of that answer from the Department. Basically, in terms of the pilot, the only thing the Department has announced is that the north County Wexford scheme is now included. The other two pilot schemes are not really new bus services. They are using the existing public transport network.

If pilot schemes are being introduced and reviewed for the 2024-25 school year, and this was committed to under the school transport 2030 review, my problem is that we do not have them in operation yet. I must question what the point is in sanctioning a scheme if we do have it up and operating. Looking at the response from the Department, my problem is that it is practically a cut-and-paste of the exact same answer I got six months ago.

The Minister of State will appreciate that I fully understand, as he does, how the school transport scheme operates. This was not the question I was asking. I asked the Department when the pilot schemes were going to start and where they were going to be operating.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Senator's frustration. This was the response I was given by the Department of Education. In fairness to the Department, it is continuing to review the situation. From my experience, I know that one of the challenges in several areas is getting drivers. It is a challenge. By the way, the closing statement I have here refers to the Senator as a Deputy. I am sure this was someone looking to the future.

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to update him on the ongoing work on the school transport 2030 review and the roll-out of the pilot areas. As outlined, these pilot projects will provide valuable insights on the impact increased demand will have on the scheme and the potential to integrate public transport services, which is what seems to be being spoken of, with school transport services and the facilitation of more sustainable modes of transport. I remind the Senator that all the Government's commitments to achieving the report's recommendations of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030 will be in addition to the 161,600 children who currently travel daily on school transport services.

A large part of my constituency is rural as well and I understand the challenges there. The choice of school is impacted too. That is another specific issue. I do, therefore, understand fully the difficulties that parents have, but I think the Department is doing everything possible to resolve those issues. Long-term planning is going on regarding this problem, which I think is extremely important. It is going to be rolled out over the next four to five years and it is important that we support the Department in undertaking this work.