Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 707: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason Bus Éireann refused to issue bus tickets for children returning from a school (details supplied). [28711/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy does not provide details of the individual pupils concerned, I am not in a position to comment on any specific cases. However, I understand children from the area identified by the Deputy attend the national school referred to in the details supplied. The general position under the terms of the primary school transport scheme is that 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 or school of amalgamation 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. The eligibility of such pupils would be assessed for concessionary fare-paying transport by Bus Éireann, which organises school transport on behalf of my Department, subject to the usual terms of the school transport scheme. I understand that, after all eligible pupils were accommodated on the service covering the area referred to by the Deputy, a sufficient number of spare seats was not available to facilitate pupils applying for concessionary fare-paying transport.