Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reverse the proposal to withdraw the existing school transport arrangements for the traveller community at a location (details supplied) in County Leitrim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21776/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the exceptional school transport arrangements, which heretofore have been made available to Traveller children only, were reviewed in line with the Report and Recommendations contained in the Traveller Education Strategy published in 2006.

This Strategy was finalised following a comprehensive consultative process and was overseen by a group which included representation from three national Traveller organisations. The strategy recommended that both primary and post primary Traveller children should use the mainstream school transport scheme in operation at present and that only in exceptional circumstances, based on special needs, should special transport be provided as a positive action measure.

Consequently, the general terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme, including the eligibility requirement that pupils reside 3.2 kilometres or more from their nearest school, is now being applied to all school transport applicants.

Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Schemes on behalf of my Department, has advised that the pupils in question do not meet this distance criterion and are therefore not eligible for school transport.