Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 216: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if school transport will be provided to children (details supplied) in County Mayo. [27206/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the primary school transport scheme, children are eligible, subject to conditions, for free transport to their nearest national school or school of amalgamation. Pupils not attending their nearest national school may, subject to conditions, avail of concessionary fare-paying transport to another school, subject to spare accommodation being available on the bus and provided that no extra State cost is incurred by extending or re-routing the service. Pupils who do not meet the distance requirement may also avail of concessionary fare-paying transport subject to similar conditions.

The eligibility of the pupils in question for concessionary fare-paying transport was assessed by Bus Éireann, which organises school transport on behalf of the Department of Education and Science, subject to the usual terms of the school transport scheme. The Department of Education and Science understands that after all eligible pupils were accommodated on the service concerned, there was not sufficient spare accommodation to facilitate all the pupils applying for concessionary fare-paying transport, including the pupils in question.