Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in to discuss and debate this issue. As he is aware, Wexford town is the capital town of County Wexford. It is home to a population of about 21,500 people and, like many towns, it is experiencing very rapid population growth, with an increase of approximately 9% over the last census. One of the issues with the rise in population in Wexford town is access to secondary school places. At present in Wexford town we have five secondary schools: Wexford CBS, Loreto Secondary School, Selskar College, St. Peter's College and Presentation Secondary School. The issue is that it is currently not possible to facilitate all applicants who apply for a secondary school place in Wexford town. In the case of ten students whom I am giving a voice to today - I am aware of other cases as well - they applied for a secondary school place in Wexford town but unfortunately were not successful in the lottery system. This has meant that they have to travel now from Wexford town, 37 kilometres down the road to New Ross to attend Good Counsel College. This is a very good school and they have no issue doing that but they would have preferred to have a place in their local town, in Wexford town. The issue here is that the school rural transport guidelines at the moment only permit a school bus ticket for a student who is attending the closest school to them. Unfortunately, these students were locked out of the schools closest to them and find themselves now in a position where they cannot get a school bus ticket to attend the school they are now attending, Good Counsel College in New Ross. I would like to know, in the circumstances where the State has not been able to provide a secondary school place to these students in their local town, will the Department be willing to look at and re-examine the rules around these school bus tickets to ensure that there will be a school bus travelling from Wexford town to Good Counsel College, New Ross, to accommodate these students?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, I thank the Senator for raising this very important matter on behalf of the families he represents in Wexford. I know myself how important school transport is. It is the lifeline of many communities. I fully appreciate the urgency of the matter. As the Senator will know, the school transport scheme is a significant operation that is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. School transport is such an important service for families across the country and I am pleased to say that the scheme has expanded significantly over recent years thanks to continued Government investment ensuring more and more children are supported with access to it. The number of children and young people using the service has grown from under 120,000 pupils in 2018 to almost 178,000 pupils in 2025, which is a significant increase in the investment by any measure.Notwithstanding this, as the Senator has mentioned, issues still arise where services are not in place. In this regard, and on specific issues raised by the Senator, Bus Éireann has advised that pupils residing in Wexford town are not eligible for school transport to Good Counsel College in New Ross as this would not be the nearest post-primary centre for the pupils concerned. Bus Éireann has further advised that there is no school transport scheme from Wexford town to the New Ross post-primary centre. The Minister of State recognises that the school transport scheme is vital to families in certain areas to support them in bringing their children to school.

The Minister of State also acknowledges that there is still work to do in the expansion of the school transport scheme as committed to in the programme for Government. This is supported by the analysis that has been undertaken as part of the school transport 2030 review, which demonstrates that school transport schemes play a really important role for many families. The review's recommendations detail how the provision of school transport can be expanded to over 260,000 children and young people with transport to and from school each day. Such expansion would have a hugely positive impact on working families and rural communities such as the Senator's in Wexford and will provide young people with self-confidence and independence. It would also reduce our carbon emissions and traffic congestion.

The recommendations are being pursued on a phased basis through pilots around the country and the intention is to advance these further in the years ahead. The continued growth of the school transport scheme is contingent on resources being made available and we would hope that budget 2026 will provide that opportunity. I know the Minister of State is committed to working to ensure funding is secured in each budget to fully fund these programme for Government commitments. While I do not hold direct responsibility in this area, I will raise the concerns the Senator has raised here today and bring them directly back to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and welcome his commitment to engage with me on this issue. It is very important to point out that the reason these students are travelling from Wexford town to New Ross is they could not get access to a secondary school place in their home town of Wexford town. That is an anomaly in the current rules whereby the State has failed to provide them with a secondary school place at their closest secondary school and therefore is denying them a school bus ticket because they are not attending their local secondary school. Had these parents and students to do it again, they would have liked to have taken up a place in Wexford town but they now find themselves in a situation where they are attending New Ross. They are asking that the rules be changed, that flexibility be given and that they be provided with a school bus to accommodate them attending the school they are now attending.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Senator. Does the Minister of State wish to reply?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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No.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Okay. I thank Senator Byrne. Before I go on, I welcome our guests on my right, who are guests of Deputy Keira Keogh. They are from the Mayo Self Advocacy Group and are from right across Mayo. They are all very welcome, and so is the councillor. On my left, I welcome the guests in the special Gallery. I thank them for coming and I hope both groups have an enjoyable stay here in the Oireachtas.