Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 440: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will allow a person (details supplied) in County Limerick to obtain a bus ticket to allow them to use her Department's transport. [26391/07]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if s/he resides 4.8 km or more from her/his local post primary education centre. The scheme is not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send their children to a post-primary centre outside of the catchment area in which they reside. However, children who are fully eligible for transport to the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which they reside may apply for transport on a concessionary basis to a post-primary centre outside their own catchment area, otherwise known as catchment boundary transport. These children can only be facilitated if spare seats are available on the bus after all other eligible children travelling to their local post-primary centre have been catered for. Such children have to make their own way to the nearest pick-up point within that catchment area. The Transport Liaison Officer for County Limerick and Bus Éireann have advised that the transport service in question is operating to capacity. The family in question should continue to liaise with Bus Éireann about the availability of catchment boundary seats in the future. My Department is aware, since the phasing out of the three for two seating arrangement on school buses, that vacant seats, where they arise, are now more conspicuous than heretofore. It is a matter of concern that some parents are reserving seats for their children and then not making full use of the seats.

In circumstances where a complaint of this nature is received, Bus Éireann arranges to monitor the situation. Those who are identified as using the school transport services on an irregular basis can be asked to surrender their tickets and make alternative transport arrangements to allow their seats to be reallocated to other families in accordance with the terms of the school transport schemes. Bus Éireann relies on the co-operation and goodwill of parents to release seats for the benefit of others in such circumstances. If the Deputy has precise information which may assist in identifying those who appear not to be using their seats on a regular basis, my Department will be pleased to have the matter investigated.