Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if further to correspondence from this Deputy (details supplied) if he will provide a definition of traversable; his views on whether the word traversable should only be applied to those roads that can be travelled by buses; his views on whether using routes that cannot be travelled by buses is appropriate for the purposes of calculating distances to the nearest school; his further views on whether selecting routes on that basis meets the intent of his Department's requirement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41854/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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From the outset of the scheme , the measurement of the shortest traversable route from a child's home to the relevant education centre has been used to determine whether or not a child qualifies for school transport based on the distance criteria. It is not correct to say that such a route must be capable of being traversed by a bus. On the contrary, it may be either a pedestrian or vehicular route. Any other approach could result in a situation where the State is required to provide school transport to a child living within walking distance of a school.

I am satisfied with the current requirements for determining eligibility.