Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide information on the age of the school bus fleet with details of the number of buses in specific age categories with yearly intervals. [21760/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The specific information requested by the Deputy is not readily available. Bus Éireann informed my Department that the average age of its own large capacity bus fleet is 16 years. The average age of all vehicles used is 11.5 years.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 221: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide details of the school bus fleet with a breakdown of the number of buses in each capacity range. [21761/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The following is a breakdown of the number and type of vehicles used for school transport. Bus Éireann has 650 large buses and two mini-buses. It contracts out 462, 450 and 1,213 large buses, medium buses and mini-buses, respectively. Contractor cars number 255. The above figures were extracted by Bus Éireann from the October 2004 census.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 222: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide details of the school bus fleet with details of the number of coaches which have seat belts; the number which are capable of having seat belts retrofitted and the number which are not. [21762/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Bus Éireann has advised my Department that the most recent figures available indicate that 1,590 vehicles have seat belts and 1,483 are without seat belts. The vehicles with belts include taxis. The question of retrofitting vehicles with seat belts is being assessed to establish which buses are suitable.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide details of the number of school buses which are driven by Bus Éireann drivers; and the training that is provided to them for this purpose. [21763/05]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 224: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide details of the number of school buses which are driven by non-Bus Éireann drivers together with details of the qualifications and training required of these drivers. [21764/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223 and 224 together.

The following is a breakdown of the number of vehicles which are driven by Bus Éireann drivers and non-Bus Éireann drivers. Bus Éireann has 650 large buses and two mini-buses. It contracts out 462, 450 and 1,213 large buses, medium buses and mini-buses respectively. Contractor cars number 255. The above figures were extracted by Bus Éireann from the October 2004 census.

Bus Éireann school bus drivers are required to undergo a pre-employment medical examination by a nominated doctor and may be subject to ongoing medical review. All Bus Éireann school bus drivers must hold a current driving licence appropriate to the size of vehicles they are required to drive. The company also provides training to bring drivers up to the requisite standard, if necessary. In addition, Bus Éireann school bus drivers must pass a driving assessment conducted by specially trained and qualified Bus Éireann inspectors. Vehicle familiarisation with different types of school buses is carried out on an ongoing basis. Bus Éireann school bus drivers have also attended a disability awareness training course, especially designed to take account of the requirements of children with special needs who travel under the school transport scheme. This course is ongoing at the present.

Contractor school bus drivers are required to undergo a pre-employment medical examination by a nominated doctor and may be subject to ongoing medical review by the chief medical officer of CIE. It is a condition of the contract agreement that no persons shall be allowed to drive a school bus if having been requested, they refuse to submit themselves for medical examination or if they are certified unfit. All contractors must hold a current driving licence appropriate to the size of vehicles they are required to drive. Bus Éireann maintains a record of driving licences on file for all nominated contractor school bus drivers.

Bus Éireann extended the disability awareness training course for its own personnel to include contractors and their school bus drivers who drive services under the school transport scheme for children with special needs. This training course is ongoing at present. Contractors, as independent private bus operators, may at their own discretion provide additional training for their employees.