Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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471. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a public transport route operated by Bus Éireann from Listowel to Tralee, County Kerry bus station only is considered as a school bus transport service for the calculation of mileage for the boarding grant element of the remote area grant scheme in respect of attending Irish-medium secondary education. [3705/15]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Under the Remote Area Boarding Grant scheme, provision is made for the payment of grants in respect of pupils whose normal place of residence is outside the range of public transport services to a school providing suitable free second-level education. To qualify for a boarding grant, an applicant must:

(a) be normally resident in the state; and

(b) be resident at least 4.8 km from a second-level school where suitable free second-level education is available and more than 3.2 km from a pick-up point on a transport service to such a school; and

(c) be unable to obtain a place in a suitable second-level school within 25 km of his/her normal place of residence; and

(d) be a pupil in a second-level school providing free second-level education.

The full terms of the scheme are available on the Department's website.

Distance eligibility is determined by Bus Éireann by measuring the shortest traversable route from a child's home to the relevant education centre.