Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the reasons private bus contractors contracted for the school transport service are restricted to providing buses that are less than 20 years old where these buses are certified for road use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6969/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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All school bus services provided under the School Transport Scheme are operated on behalf of my Department by Bus Éireann. Accordingly, it is appropriate for Bus Éireann to set the operating standards to be met by private bus operators whom they employ as Contractors to provide these services.

In previous decades it was not unusual to see buses over twenty years old providing school transport services but in more recent times higher public expectation and more advanced safety technology in more modern vehicles resulted in a requirement for younger vehicles to improve the age profile, safety standards, and quality of school bus services in general. To this end, Bus Éireann prioritises the withdrawal and replacement of school buses over a twenty-year age threshold. Bus Eireann has advised my Department that the average age of the school bus fleet is currently at record low levels, or approximately thirteen years old.