Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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110. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will elaborate on his statement of 7 July 2013 (details supplied) when he spoke about Bus Éireann; if his views on Bus Éireann have changed since then; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10320/14]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The reference used by the Deputy in his question is selective within a much more detailed statement on the role of Bus Éireann in the provision of school transport.

As I stated at that time, I was referring to instances in which private operators that had identified profitable routes had their buses followed around the city by Bus Éireann buses in an attempt to stymie the success of those routes. This of course referred to the provision of commercial services and not school transport services.

I then went on to outline in some detail Bus Éireann's complex and onerous role in providing the national transport system for schools which encompasses procurement and payments, assessment and processing of applications for eligibility, contractor tax and legislative compliance, child protection, design and oversight of the school transport network, collecting parental contributions and day to day supervision and monitoring of service performance, standards and safety. In the intervening period, Bus Éireann has continued to fulfil these functions in delivering some 114,000 children to and from school each day.