Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to contractors carrying children to school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38312/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The overall spend on school transport, which provides for all aspects of school transport provision including the payment of grants, amounted to over €171 million in 2011. The 2012 allocation is almost €170million. Payments to private contractors amounted to over €105million or some 61% of the total cost of school transport provision in 2011. Some 85% of the vehicles used to provide services under the School Transport Scheme, equivalent to over 3,300 vehicles, are provided by private operators under contract to Bus Éireann. Private contractors carried over 70,000 pupils in 2011. While the cost of individual routes or services is regarded as commercially sensitive, the Value for Money Review of the School Transport Scheme showed that the school transport unit cost per mainstream child is some €1,000 while the school transport unit cost per child with special educational needs including the cost of an escort is in the region of €9,000 per annum.