Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this issue. I am conscious that we are almost at the end of September so school is back about a month. There is a situation in St. Bricin's College, Belturbet, County Cavan that has not yet been resolved. I am seeking clarification and what the intention is going forward.

I was contacted by the principal to say there are 32 students enrolled in St. Bricin's school in Belturbet who live in Cavan town or its environs. There are secondary schools in Cavan town but they are all full, or they are full for the years these students need to go into because they are not all first year students. They all have letters stating that they had attempted to enrol, that there is no place for them and they cannot be accepted into the schools. The school was led to believe that if there were ten students or more in this situation that the Department of Education and Youth would sanction a school bus from Cavan town to St. Bricin's College to bring these students. They were informed of that last April. They actually registered for school transport and they paid or put in their medical card details but they have now been left in limbo in that they do not know whether this bus is going to be sanctioned. At the moment, if they can afford it, they are paying for a private bus, which costs €50 week per student. Some students are not attending school because they cannot afford to pay for the bus to get there. One family has three students going to that school so they are paying €150. There is no reduction for siblings or for more than one student in the school. This fee is charged whether the school is open or not, so if there is a day the school is closed for some reason or if there is a bank holiday in the week they still have to pay the €50. I contacted Bus Éireann staff who said they are aware of the situation and that they have notified the Department as they cannot put a route on without sanction from the Department.

I am looking for clarity on what will happen with this. The school was told the bus would be provided if there were ten or more pupils. This has not happened. I understand that normally they would be considered concessionary pupils but because there is no space for them in their nearest schools in their locality, there is a way of putting on a bus for these students to get them to school and not have to pay excessive amounts.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising the matter. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The Senator may be aware that under the terms of the scheme children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from attending the nearest school, and at post-primary level not less than 4.8 km from attending the nearest post-primary school or education centre, as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, and having regard to the ethos and the language.

Bus Éireann has advised that pupils residing in Cavan town are not eligible for school transport to St. Bricin's post-primary school, which is part of the Belturbet post-primary centre as they are nearer to Cavan town post-primary school centre.Children who are not eligible for school transport but complete an application and pay, or enter their medical card details on time, may be considered for any spare seats available after eligible children have been accommodated. These spare seats are called concessionary seats and are subject to a number of conditions, including that there is an existing service in place with spare capacity.

Bus Éireann has advised me that 11 children applied for the Cavan town transport to St. Bricin's College. All these pupils are concessionary because they are not attending their nearest post-primary school. It further advised that there is no school transport service from Cavan town to the college in Belturbet that children from this area can avail of. A minimum number of ten eligible children residing in the district locally, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of the school transport system, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits. Routes may be altered or extended depending on the number and location of eligible children who would be availing of school transport for the following school year.

The Senator mentioned in her opening remarks that there was some indication that a school service would be running from Cavan town to Belturbet. Under the rules and terms and conditions of the scheme, transport would not normally be going from one town to another. If the Senator has details, I might follow up. That seems to be in conflict with the terms and conditions of the scheme. I will follow up on the issue if the Senator has some information in that regard.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. I understand that would normally be the case, but in this circumstance, their nearest school is full. Even Bus Éireann has said that if the Department of education is satisfied that the nearest school is full, parents must then provide directly to the Department of Education and Youth evidence of an application for enrolment that was made within the deadline, a letter from the school authorities confirming that the school was full and, if necessary, a copy of any appeal. Bus Éireann is saying it will look at the issues where children's nearest schools are full and they must go to the next nearest school. I know the parents of the student in question did apply to the nearest school and were refused. They enrolled in St. Bricin's because they needed a school for their child. St. Bricin's had a place and was willing to take the student. The principal informed me that in April the school was told a service could be provided if there was a sufficient numbers of students. That came from Bus Éireann, to clarify. I can get further details from the principal and send them to the Minister of State.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I have had some experience of the scheme in recent weeks, in particular, and the nuances of it. Bus Éireann is basing its determination on the fact that the schools in Cavan town are full. That is probably the reason. I will look at any information the Senator has. I understand the terms and conditions of the scheme clearly at the moment. If you have ten or more eligible pupils, you can commence a service and consider concessionary tickets on that service. You need eligible pupils in the first instance to allow the scheme to take place. I would like to know from whom came the information about setting up the service in April because I would follow up on that. As I see it at the moment, these children seem to be outside the scheme. If any other information is available, I would be only too glad to see if we can resolve the issue.