Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1128: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that for some years school transport was provided to a school (details supplied) in County Limerick for children outside the catchment area of that school resident in Mungret and Clarina, County Limerick; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that six first year students have been refused this facility in 2005; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that the service is provided in a 24-seater bus which never carries more than 13 children; if she will restore the service to the six children in question; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24786/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if he or she resides 4.8 km or more from her or his local post-primary education centre, that is, the centre serving the catchment area in which he or she lives. In addition, an eligible pupil may be allowed the concession of transport, known as catchment boundary transport, to a centre other than her or his local centre, provided there is room on the bus to that centre after all eligible pupils have been catered for.

Pupils from the areas referred to by the Deputy who reside within the Limerick city catchment area may apply for catchment boundary transport. The decision in regard to the post-primary centre concerned was made following a full assessment of all relevant factors, and there is no proposal to reverse it.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 1129: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the cost to the Government of the school transport system; the method of payment to Bus Éireann; the way in which service and customer satisfaction is monitored; if she has satisfied herself with the deal between Bus Éireann and the private contractors and the way in which they are paid; if there is a tender process each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24801/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The total amount paid by my Department to Bus Éireann in 2004 in respect of the school transport scheme was € 94.6 million. The company is paid on the basis of monthly accounts submitted to my Department.

Additional funding is being provided to increase capacity on school transport services in order to provide one-for-one seating and seat belt equipped buses. The additional costs are as follows: the hiring of 250 extra vehicles —€2 million recurrent cost for the remainder of 2005 and €5 million to €6 million for full year recurrent cost from 2006; there is no capital cost; the purchase of 50 second-hand coaches —€7.5 million capital in capital costs and €2 million in full year recurrent costs; the purchase of 20 custom built school buses —€3 million in capital costs and €750,000 full year recurrent costs; the purchase of a further 66 buses next year —€10 million in capital terms and €2.6 million in recurrent costs; lap belts for Bus Éireann buses —€2.5 million once-off in 2005 and €1.5 million once-off in 2006.

Bus Éireann administers the scheme through a dedicated school transport head office, a network of 11 local offices and 40 mobile school bus inspectors. The inspectors plan and monitor all school bus services, including those provided by contractors, and carry out comprehensive service checks with follow-up procedures in place to ensure that the required standard of service is being delivered. The inspectors routinely visit school authorities to provide assistance in school transport matters and to investigate any difficulties that may arise.

The Bus Éireann network of school transport offices can be conveniently accessed by the public, and they are in regular contact with the various transport liaison officers around the country. Bus Éireann also operates a lo-call information line on behalf of my Department to handle any school transport-related queries from members of the public.

Bus Éireann negotiates with contractors on an individual basis to ensure that the service is delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective fashion. The rates paid to contractors depend on several factors such as the size of vehicle provided, car, minibus, medium-sized bus or large bus, whether the vehicle is equipped with specialised equipment such as a wheelchair lift, the number of trips that the bus is needed for each day, the mileage involved, and the local transport market environment.

All new routes are filled by a contractor, except where no suitable operator can be found. Bus Éireann places a generic advertisement in the national media annually, inviting any transport operator who is interested in providing school transport services, to make application to the local Bus Éireann office. A list of suitable operators is drawn up from these applications and, where vacancies arise before the beginning of the school year, a new service is required, or the cost of the existing service is higher than the norm, operators who are convenient to the route with the appropriate size of vehicle are invited to tender. In addition, local routes may be advertised during the course of the school year as vacancies arise and, where there is sufficient interest from private operators, a tender competition is used to select the successful candidate.