John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 190: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the reason the route of the school transport service to Waterford, serving the Brownstown area of Dunmore East, County Waterford, has been changed; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that this route has been in use for more than 40 years and the new route results in many children having to travel many additional miles to meet the bus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32202/10]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if s/he resides 4.8 kilometres or more from her/his local post primary education centre.

The scheme is not designed to facilitate children who attend 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 of 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.

In the course of the 2009/10 school year a number of parents residing in the Brownstown area contacted my Department regarding the availability of seats on the bus servicing the area and the route travelled by this bus.

During the summer break, Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department reviewed the school transport services for the Brownstown area. Part of this review included an assessment of the number and location of eligible pupils and the routing and time tabling of the existing service.

A service has now been established to cater for eligible pupils and the families in question have been notified.