Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the mechanisms used by VECs in determining the distance from a candidate's home to place of education; if he is satisfied that this method of measuring the distance is accurate and transparent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33144/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Bus Éireann operates the School Transport Schemes on behalf of my Department.

Under the terms of these Schemes children are eligible for school transport where they meet the distance eligibility criterion and are attending their nearest school, having regard to ethos and language.

Distance eligibility is determined by Bus Éireann by measuring the shortest traversable route from a child's home to the relevant school. Mobile Bus Éireann Inspectors located throughout the country physically conduct these distance measurements where required; a GIS mapping solution may also be used to complement this process. In cases where the distance eligibility is marginal or in dispute, vehicles fitted with calibrated measuring devices which measure the distance down to the nearest metre may be used to establish the exact distance.